THERE'S ONLY ONE THING TO DO, THREE WORDS FOR YOU
by mikage-me07
Summary: WHAT WILL YOU DO WHEN YOU WAKE UP AS A GIRL AFTER SPENDING THE LAST 15 YEARS OF EXISTENCE AS A BOY? IN THIS CASE, WHAT WILL TSUNA EHEM ...TSUNAHIME DO? *GRINS EVILLY*
1. Chapter 1,2,3

**_A SUDDEN CHANGE OF HEART?  
><em>**

_**What do you do when you wake up as a girl after spending the last 15 years of your existence as a boy?**_

**PROLOGUE**

"Tsuna" started Reborn on a warm Sunday noon.

Tsunayoshi Sawada glanced at his tutor with a questioning look.

"You're a girl." Said the baby and then smirked.

Tsuna laughed nervously.

"Haa-haa…Reborn, what are you talking about?"

But Reborn just continued to smirk and landed a kick on Tsuna's face.

"Owww…That hurts Re-" a sharp intake of breath was heard from Tsuna as he realized that his voice has changed. It was suddenly (and alarmingly) of higher note than normal. He began trembling so strongly that his whole body shook..

He slowly and reluctantly looked down and found himself (or is it herself?) wearing a dress with many frills and laces. It was damned pink. Then, before he could blink, a full- sized mirror was placed immediately in front of him. And in there he saw a girl with long flowing brown hair, exceptionally big brown eyes, thin lips, petite body, and most especially (we shouldn't forget) a face wearing the most shocked expression you could ever muster.

"AARRGGHHH!" the earth underneath Namimori shook.

**CHAPTER I: BEGINNINGS WITHOUT ENDINGS**

"Oi, stupid Tsuna, wake up dummy. I said wake up. Have it your way then." Then,

BANG

BANG

BANG

"Arrgghh…REBORN!" shouted Tsuna while he got up and started scurrying to the farthest corner of his four- walled bedroom, away from his demon tutor.

"Who are you calling demon tutor? Useless Tsuna." He cocked another bullet.

"Ahh...no, no. Greatest tutor, most powerful Arcobaleno, ohayou gozaimasu." Said Tsuna nervously then bowed.

"Hn. I admit I'm impressed. You're still alive after 3 consecutive bullets. Congratulations."

That woke Tsuna up.

"I nearly died! I might even be a ghost now because you like, no, because you love trying to kill me!" yelled the pissed off boy on the top of his lungs.

"Every morning I get to be greeted into this world by your fatal style of awakening! I still have dreams, I still have to go on a date with Kyoko- chan, I still have- Eh?" apparently, the baby he was supposed to be talking to was nowhere to be found.

"REBORN!" the hanging plants in Namimori danced in the air.

"My my, Tsuna is always so lively, isn't he?" said Nana as she smiled sweetly.

"Yes mama. He always is." answered Reborn with the most innocent and angelic face.

"Thank you Reborn. Would you like another batch of eggs?" Will he say no? The answer is no.

The sound of descending footsteps can be heard that moment and then,

"Ohayou gozaimasu, everyone!"

"Ohayou, Tsuna-nii." greeted Fuuta as Tsuna made his way to his seat. Tsuna was about to begin his breakfast when,

"Reborn! Give me back my eggs!" cried Tsuna but Reborn simply dropped the eggs down his throat.

"Too late Dame Tsuna, a mafia boss should protect his own property." said the impassive baby.

"Unh…I'm not a mafia! I don't want to be one! Never gonna be one!"

"You still have 5 minutes to get to class Tsuna." Said Reborn underneath Bianchi's loving embrace as she fed him omelets filled with her pure and exceptionally can-be-fatal love.

"EEIIHHH!"

Tsuna literally flew out of the house. Yeah, through the window. Why? The mystery lies in Reborn's flying kick. It was not Reborn who flew to kick Tsuna, it was Tsuna who flew after the kick (well, whatever).

"Ahhhh!"

Luckily, Yamamoto Takeshi and Gokudera Hayato were walking past while bickering (it was a one-sided fight, however, for it was only Gokudera who kept the heat up).

"Jyuudaime! Are you okay? Who did this to you? Let me at them." Growled Gokudera and stood up in front of Tsuna protectively.

"Yo, Tsuna. Hahaha…that was a nice turn you did while flying. Just like a baseball." said Yamamoto with the ever-so-present grin of his.

"Shut up, you stupid baseball freak! Jyuudaime would have been hurt! You're not hurt, are you, Jyuudaime?" inquired the self-proclaimed right-hand man with concern lacing with his voice.

"Ouch, I'm okay Gokudera-kun." Squeaked Tsuna.

"Hahaha. As expected of you Tsuna. You're tough."

"Shut up, baseball freak! That's my line. Of course Jyuudaime's tough. He's my boss." Stated the bomber as if what he said had summarized everything up.

"Maa maa, come on. Let's start walking. We'll be late for class." Said the unaffected (it pissed off Gokudera more) baseball star.

"EEIIHH!" squeaked the Decimo, who stood looking at his watch. They had wasted 2 whole minutes of his precious and limited time.

"What's wrong, Jyuudaime? Are you hurt? Look at what you did, you baseball idiot!" yelled Gokudera.

"Calm down, Gokudera-kun. Yamamoto's right. We're gonna be late if we don't hurrry."

Gokudera: **= (** "Hai, Jyuudaime."

They arrived in sight of The Namimori Middle High at exactly two minutes and thirty seconds.

They ran further and saw the school committee's president standing at the gate with his back leaning on the brick wall. The sight made Tsuna run to his exteremes.

"Starting from the Sawada residence, Tsuna, you arrived here exactly 4 minutes and 45 seconds later. Yamamoto Takeshi: 4 minutes and 50 seconds. Gokudera Hayato: 4 minutes and 50 seconds" announced Reborn in his Elder Pao Pao outfit.

"Reborn! Why are you recording such things?" asked Tsuna.

"I won't answer a useles question." answered Elder Pao Pao.

"EXTREME! Join the boxing club, Sawada!" boomed Sasagawa Ryohei.

"Uh.. Nii-san?"

"Sasagawa Ryohei: 4 minutes and 45 seconds." announced Elder Pao Pao.

"And he started from Tsuna's house, around the town, and back again." Piped on Reborn….oops! Ehem, Elder Pao Pao.

"Huh! He'll be no match for Jyuudaime the next time. Shut your yap, lawn head! and why do I have to be tied to this baseball jerk?" ranted on Gokudera.

"What did you say, Octopus head?" countered the boxer.

"Grrrrr…." (If only looks could kill, I'd be dropping dead by now-hey, I'm the authoress, right?)

"Maa maa. We're late." chuckled the ever-smiling Yamamoto.

"EEIIHH! Hibari-san's coming!" squealed Tsuna in terror as the school prefect edged on closer to them. He glanced frantically around him to look for a place to hide.

"Crowding of herbivores is against the rules. I'll bite you to death." declared the prefect as he hoisted his tonfas into the air.

"Why you-" started Gokudera.

"Hahaha…sorry Hibari-san. We'll go in immediately." piped in Yamamoto.

"Hn. You're late. Detention. Friday after classes. Reception room." Said the prefect and left with a graceful swish of his jacket.

They arrived late and was greeted by a very pissed off instructor.

They were of varying reactions to this.

Gokudera merely walked to his chair and sat, then rested his feet on his table, hands behind his head.

Yamamoto scratched the back of his head and started laughing because of who-knows-what.

For Tsuna though,

"Every time your gang comes in, you're late. Don't you have any respect remaining for me?" cried their teacher dramatically.

"Aahhh…We're very sorry sensei. We'll try harder next time." pleaded Tsuna. This was one of the times when he was supposed to keep his cool, walk to his seat, and say nothing else- to impress Kyoko! But fate wanted him to remain in front of the class and endure the sermon of their teacher.

_Finally_, the teacher calmed down after a few more minutes of yelling.

And, they resumed their boring classes until late afternoon.

**~):^ (I)**

Tsuna went home that night in a very tired state. But as soon as he came in sight of his beloved house,

BANG

"Dame-Tsuna, you're late." said the sun Arcobaleno.

"Reborn! You don't have to shoot me you know." Tsuna staggered to his feet.

"Kyuudaime is here." was the simple answer.

**CHAPTER 2: YOU'VE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME**

"A…a…ah...ky...kyuudaime. What are you doing here?" Tsuna received another kick from Reborn.

"He's the boss of the most powerful mafia family, stupid. Anywhere he wants, he goes."

The mafia boss was wearing a casual outfit that you often see worn by people everywhere. So simple. With the boss were at least 6 men in black (not so simple) and sitting on the couch was…Shamal, with a shamed expression on his face.

The current Vongola boss chuckled.

"Don't be too hard on my next successor Reborn. He can talk to me in whatever way he wants."

Tsuna paled. "I…I…I don't actually want to ba a…a…mafia. Much less a boss." whispered Tsuna in a voice not intended for humans.

But i guess the ninth boss was not human because he heard it nonetheless. "Now now, don't say such things Tsu-kun. You won the ring conflict. You deserve to be the Decimo." The mafia boss smiled kindly.

"and for another thing," Kyuudaime suddenly turned serious.

"I'm here to awaken you."

"Huh? Awaken? What do you mean? Ky…Kyuudaime?" said Tsuna.

"Let's start with this. Reborn probably never told you this without my permission but now you have the right to know." He paused.

"Shamal here (he pointed to Shamal) discovered a new kind of disease and gave it to one of his mosquitoes 15 years ago. Now, you know how the mosquitoes work, don't you? (Tsuna nodded) he accidentally released his mosquito which wandered off on its own in the hospital Shamal was in. Shamal and a few of my subordinates searched for the mosquito (and it's not even big so it can be easily spotted) and finally, found it landed on a baby in the nursery. It was landed on…you." narrated Kyuudaime.

_Why me?_ thought Tsuna miserably but he chose to keep his tongue. wow, Reborn's lessons are actually kicking in. _Know when to hold your tongue._

"The disease carried by the mosquito was the gender-bender disease." said Reborn with a sudden flash of his eyes.

"Oh...so"

1 minute of deafening silence passed.

2 minutes.

3 min-

"WHAT?" for the second time that day, Namimori shook. It was still a wonder what a big voice the small Tsuna could produce.

At the same moment, Shamal stood up from the couch and slowly took something out from his inside pocket.

"I'm sorry, Tsuna. But I will correct my mistake now. Nothing to worry about." And he advanced towards Tsuna.

Tsuna tried to resist and run but found his living room exits blocked by the MIB together with their shiny (gulp) and dangerously big (gulp gulp) guns.

The frightened boy was just wondering how painful this would be when a ready reply came:

"Dame-Tsuna, it's a mosquito bite. It can also be like a bee's sting, depending on the mosquito's size." said the baby in the fedora coolly.

"Uh…really? Like a _beasting_? Ahhh!"

"It's going to be alright." said Kyuudaime. Shamal was only a few more feet away…a foot…inches.

The old man's concerned face was the last thing he saw before he was claimed by the darkness.

**...ooo00800ooo...**

"Unh…Itai. My head hurts. Huh?" he clearly saw that he was not on his own room. He wandered his gaze about and discovered that he was in a luxurious circular room. He slowly rose from the bed and was shocked to see Reborn in a high-backed chair facing him.

"How are you feeling Tsuna?" began Reborn.

_Huh? Since when was Reborn concerned for him?_ thought Tsuna.

"First of all, because you're my student. I don't want to have you dying in front of me before you complete your training, although I can turn my back and you can die- just not in front of me. Next, because it's healthy to ask questions and lace it with drama to gain the trust of that person." said Reborn.

_Brutal…always brutal._

"Who are you calling brutal, Dame-Tsuna?" He cocked his gun and took aim.

The scared Tsuna ran to the farthest corner of the room until he noticed while running that he was wearing a gown.

He looked down. It was a _girl's_ gown.

He took a deep breath. It was _pink_.

He closed his eyes and opened them again. _He_ was _wearing_ a girly pink _gown_ (did that make it a "she"?).

"AAARRRGGGHHH!" this time, the whole Vongola mansion shook.

"Reborn! What happened to me? bring me back!." Said Tsuna frantically and began running to and fro inside the room. He felt something bouncing in his (her?) chest and felt it with her hands. It was squishy and soft. He squeezed.

"AAARRRGGGHHH! What are these things? I'm going to die! I've turned into a freak!" shouted the exasperated girl.

Reborn kicked her face.

"For the record, you were always a freak. And I can't bring you back. That's who you really are. Weren't you listening to Kyuudaime when he explained?" scoffed her tutor.

"Argh…I thought it was a dream! This can't be happening." Tsuna flailed her thin arms in front of her as she ran round and round and round the room at a furious speed.

"Don't think. It requires a _brain_, Tsuna and you don't have one." said Reborn.

"Let's go down for breakfast. I'm hungry."

The baby strode towards the door.

"Ehh? Reborn! Don't leave me! Where are we anyway? How long have I been asleep?" the girl ran to follow her demonic tutor.

"You slept for two days. Now, we're in Italy." answered Reborn with a suiting demonic smirk.

Meanwhile, three figures were camouflaged with dirt and were crawling inch by inch into the Vongola mansion. They were sure that they were unnoticed. They can't die yet. They still have the most important mission that they have to fulfill.

"They probably kept him in the dungeons. But we still don't know which dungeon because the mansion holds a thousand secrets of its own. But let us not shrink from the thought. We have to prevail. We cannot keep him in there any long-"

"OI, YOU, WHERE DO YOU THINK YOU'RE GOING?" boomed Gokudera.

"Pathetic, you resemble more and more the most pathetic herbivore." said Hibari Kyoya in the most even voice.

"Shut up! I'm doing this for Jyuudaime, you ungrateful twerp!" cried the silver-haired subordinate.

Let us take a peek through time when it all started.

_Two days ago, while walking home, they saw their boss, Tsuna, being dragged (well carried, actually but this is how Gokudera saw it) into a black car._

"_Why you-" Gokudera stood up from their hiding place._

"_Wait, octopus head. Someone's coming out from the house. Isn't that extremely the perverted doctor?" said Ryohei._

_And so it was Shamal. Followed by…(gasp Gokudera, gasp)_

"_Kyuudaime?" _

"_Eh? Isn't that Tsuna's grandfather?" whispered Yamamoto. "Hahaha, they're probably going to a vacation, you know, family outing." Yamamoto chuckled._

_But the bomber was not listening. He stood there, thinking of the worst case scenario: his beloved Jyuudaime hanging upside down on the starboard side of the ship, asking for his most trusted and most able right hand man. Gokudera's eyes sparkled. _

"_Don't worry boss, I will save you." He said and strode to the other side of the road. Much to the amazament of his two companions._

Enough guys, come back to the present time.

"I'll bite you to death" was the reply.

"Maa maa, we still have things to do, we have no time for this." intervened Yamamoto.

"Hmph. I hate to admit it but you're right. And could you hide? We'll be caught easily if you just keep strolling casually." said the grumpy Gokudera.

"Kufufufu…(I remember that laugh, thought the three who were lying dirtily on the ground) You dragged us into this. We didn't want to come." Rokudo Mukuro suddenly materialized into the air. Tonfas and a trident clashed.

"I did not invite you! Why are you here?" said the pissed off Gokudera.

"Can't you see I'm busy at the moment? Kufufufu…" they continued fighting until a sudden "click " was heard.

"Hahaha, what's that glowing thing in your hand Sasagawa-san?" asked Yamamoto with his ever-present-smile.

"Oh, shit." It was a landmine.

"Hey!" shouted Gokudera "Help us get out of here! There's a landmine!" yelled Gokudera.

The mention of the word "landmine" and the mist and cloud guardian suddenly fought at a furious speed, their images were blurry. As one, they edged farther away from Yamomoto, Gokudera and Ryohei.

"Hey! Come back here!"

"Oi, lawn head, what's a landmine? And this light is extremely hurting my eyes." Said Ryohei and started to get up.

"No!" cried the rain and storm guardian together. T-O-O L-A-T-E.

Birds squawked and flew in every direction, away from the explosion.

**:+(**

At that moment, back in the Vongola mansion, Tsuna felt a sudden shiver run down her spine. _Oh no, this is not going to be good. Wait, when did something good happen to me?_ he thought bitterly.

"Everything went good for you since you met me." stated her tutor.

Blood boiling, Tsuna countered with a high- pitched and high- volume voice:

"Everything went wrong since I met you! How could you even say that?"

Pause.

Birds outside sang happy songs.

The guards continued to patrol around the mansion.

Tsuna gathered her breath.

"REEEBOOORN!" it was a shout which lasted for a long time, eyes closed. When she opened them again, her tutor was gone. She gathered a fresh supply of air but then,

"Voi! Who dares to make noise that loud besides me?" and the figure of Squalo along with Xanxus, appeared around the corner.

"EEIIHH! Oh no!" oh yes. It was indeed the rain guardian and worse, the boss of the Varia, in the flesh, coming towards her. Tsuna glanced around to discover that there was nowhere she could hide. She paled. She actually stopped breathing.

Then, they engaged into a gaze battle. Squalo's long-maned head rose up and went down again. Xanxus stood there impassively. Then, he did the most unexpected thing anyone in their right minds would do.

"Hey stupid boss, what do you think you're doing?"

He strode forward. Swooped down a hand. And squeezed one of the two lumps in Tsuna's chest. Xanxus paled.

"AARRGGHHH! A freak! A freak! A mutated being! What the heck is he?" Squalo ran to and fro, clawing at his face.

Tsuna just stood there gazing at Xanxus with her mouth open and was probably off of its hinges, too stunned to speak. They both stood there staring at each other.

"What's with the costume, trash?"

The girl fainted.

**CHAPTER 3: HOW TO BE A GRRRL MANUAL**

Tsuna was feeling a little dazed when she got up. Again, she was in the circular room and a tray of food invited her to get up and go straight to the table.

She ate ravenously. She ate like a pig. She gulped the chicken like there was no tomorrow (just like the carnivorous Hibari). She swallowed without chewing and a big piece of food got stuck in her throat. She coughed until she turned red, blue, green, and finally, purple. Her face was just like the rainbow. Luckily, a glass of water was placed in front of her.

"Thank you." She said and glanced up.

"B…Bianchi!" cried the brunette and ran over, hugging Bianchi. She missed someone from Japan miserably that anyone familiar will do.

_Huh? Why am I hugging her? Have I no respect?_ She thought and withdrew from the embrace.

"I…uh…I'm sorry Bianchi. I didn't mean to be a pervert. It's just that…that…Uhh." Tsuna was just lost for words, and was trying so hard to look for anything to say that you could hear her mind gears whirring furiously.

But Bianchi just smiled kindly and said, "It's okay Tsunahime, we're both women after all. There's no sin in hugging anyone you've missed."

"Huh? Who's Tsunahime?" inquired Tsuna with her eyebrows almost meeting at the center of her forehead.

Bianchi laughed a feminine laugh (wow, Tsuna thought. I wish I could be like her. Argh…what am I thinking?).

"Your name from now on is Tsunahime, Tsunahime. That was your real name before that perverted false doctor treated you with the wrong mosquito (You see, just like Gokudera, Bianchi seems to see things her way and make it hard for anyone who angered them to explain what really happened. Ah…such family resemblance.). But now, it will be your name once more and what's truly more? You can use that name forever." said Bianchi.

"Now," continued Bianchi "Reborn my love (her eyes sparkled like diamonds), has asked me to instruct you how to be properly feminine. And we will be getting my ideas from this book."

The book was entitled "How to Be a Grrrl" its letterings were done with what seems to be- bloody red lipstick that formed into cursive letters artistically. Tsunahime gulped. _This is going to be soooo messy._

They began their lesson with CHAPTER ONE: KNOW HOW TO DRESS. So practically, she spent the day going through magazines. It was rather tiring actually. She wondered how the girls in her school actually manage their time. What with the shopping and all that; they take _hours_ just to choose some fabric sewed together, which they call clothes.

"Now," said Bianchi "you have to look your best every time we go out. And we're gonna have your practice today." continued Bianchi with a small smile. _This is sooo not good._

**..ooo00800ooo…**

**I also went back to these chapters to edit some typographical errors. Please, please, please review. And it's really hard to find the title, no? It's easier if you would just type my name- mikage-me07.  
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****This is my first time to write this kind of story so I'm open to suggestions. I hope you like it guys! Enjoy my Vongola dish!****


	2. Chapter 4

**CHAPTER 4: HOW CAN IT BE DONE?**

_Oh, no._ Oh, yes. They were roaming the mansion halls, towards the dining hall. She was wearing a simple red dress (I'm not going to describe the clothing much, sorry) that ended near her ankles. She wore it together with some sort of disgusting footwear which Bianchi called stilettos. Her hair, which had grown 5 or more inches long, now adorned her back, just past her delicate shoulders. Her heart hammering, it was as if she was walking towards the death chamber when in fact she was just going to dine together with the current Vongola boss. She neared the great doors to the dining hall which were opened for her by- this time- men in white. The door opened to let her in into a spacious and luxurious dining hall. How blinding was the light. There were chandeliers made of gold which held about a thousand candles, bathing the room with candlelight. It was all Vongola-styled. The massive table was also long and there were at least 9 people already sitting round the table with their mouths open. Well, except three persons.

Bianchi just smiled, admiring her job well done. Xanxus just stared at her with a blank but still scary look on his face. Reborn was eating.

The others though were…uh… (A/N: I'll try my best to convey to you how the setting looked like.)

Squalo had a trademark scowl possibly plastered on his sharky face while staring angrily at Tsunahime (gulp *Tsunahime* gulp).

Mammon said, "Pay up, Bel. She really is a girl" while holding out his tiny hand (Mammon: what did you say, writer?) –ehem sorry- an elegant hand towards a figure with blond hair covering the half upper portion of his face and wore a tiara on top of his head.

"Ushishishi, so she is mammon-kun." Said the blond (Belphegor: call me prince, peasant.) –prince.

Levi, however, did not know how to react. He was gaping widely with a dazed look on his face. So engrossed was he in his gaping mode that he did not notice that the spoon he was holding over his mouth was spilling its contents on the white mantelpiece.

It was Lussuria's turn next. Well, guess what? He was giggling terribly and was exclaiming _Kawaii_ all this time. Not to mention his clasping his hands together and moving from side to side. Earning a disgusted glance from Squalo.

"Voi! Stop that idiotic thing you're doing you idiot!" he growled then returned his gaze to the highly nervous girl who was standing before them.

"Please take a seat Tsuna, or should I say, Tsunahime." said Timoteo calmly with a smile.

Tsunahime seated herself in a _very_ awkward position indeed- for the only available seat was on the right-hand corner of the boss, right across the now glaring Xanxus on Timoteo's left-hand side. Fortunately, (or is it unfortunately?) she was seated near Reborn, which calmed the girl a bit.

"Can I please make an announcement?" began Timoteo. "We gather tonight to announce the real identity of Sawada Tsunahime, current keeper of the vongola sky ring and successor of the Vongola Famiglia." (Xanxus hn'ed and glared harder. Squalo scoffed and glanced away. Lussuria said "kawaii". Mammon was handing back some gold coins to Bel who went "Ushishishi." And Levi was, well… being Levi.)

And so the 9th Vongola boss recounted the events that led to the change in Tsunahime as the group listened while sporting an I-don't-really- care-look. But they do care, that's why they had their ears wide open but eyes wandering, wondering how a beautiful young woman came to be in this oh-so-small world. Tsunahime just sat quietly with her head bowed all this time. Bianchi was feeding Reborn with the air of love around her.

When the kyuudaime was done with his story telling, all eyes were averted to her and her alone.

_EEIIHH!_ She screamed mentally. So far so bad.

**….. ;^o …..**

**Tsunahime's POV**

_EEIIHH! I'm not going to survive the night! They emit a worse aura than that of the ring battle. I can't believe I'm in front of the Varia and in this form! What's with this stupid dress, and this stupid heels and this stupid curls? I look outrageous. Oh…if only the guys could see me now, they'd be laughing at me._ I moaned mentally.

_I wish they're not worried about me. Mom, Fuuta, Lambo, I-pin, Kyoko, Haru, Nii-san, Yamamoto-san, Gokudera-san- oh no, I hope Gokudera-san is not going nuts right now. I bet he's scouring the whole Namimori looking for me. I'm so much trouble, what if something happens to them while I'm gone?_

I continued to worry myself by worrying on how worried they'd be with me gone. I almost forgot that the others were staring daggers at me.

_It's torture to have a dinner with the varia. It's so horrible to think that I'd be the next dish. Eeiihh! They'd serve my head in a platter. Aahhh! Goukudera-kun! Yamamoto-kun! Nii-san! Where are you when I need you? Aahh! Belphegor-kun is smirking at me. Lussuria is so weird, he's just giggling and saying "kawaii" all the time, who is he referring to anyway? Mammon is like Reborn, he's doing nothing! Gaah! Someone please, help me! I just want anyone to know that I kept my last will and testament in my hidden compartment inside my wardrobe. I wrote it the day I began training with Reborn. Please tell mom and the others not to forget me. oh..I'm gonna die! Xanxus is- eh? Smiling? Gaah! No, he can't smile. That must be a smirk or something. Oh my God, my eyes are also failing me. Help…me…_

I forced myself to look up and was shocked to see that they were now silently eating their meals. I glanced at Reborn and then at Kyuudaime and found him raising his spoon, encouraging me to eat. Reborn was oblivious to the fact that I was trembling; he just kept eating. I gulped loudly and reached for a spoon. My hand was midway when began to panic again. Which of these spoons will I use? I thought as I stared horribly at the set of spoons, knives and forks in front of me.

**End of POV**

The moon was brightly shining at the gloom in the middle of the forest, east of the Vongola mansion. A small fire was built in its center, bathing the whole clearing with enough light to warm the figures who sat huddled near the fire. They wore battered clothes and they were weary of travelling all day long. After the incident with the landmines, they dared not to venture closer to the mansion unprepared.

Roar!

A sudden grumble startled them and two of them stood up except the Vongola's sun guardian, Ryohei.

"Oi, octopus head! I'm extremely hungry! Why can't we just go to the mansion and find Tsuna extremely quickly and go back to Japan to eat Yamamoto's dad's extremely delicious sushi and get on with my training?" burst the poor guardian.

"We _can't_ lawn head _because_ if your brain permits you to remember, they dragged Jyuudaime unwillingly and brought him to the mansion. It must be the Varia behind all of this. The Kyuudaime still has a soft spot for that idiot of a Varia boss whom he calls his son. _That's_ why we can't go directly in front of them for confrontation. They'll kill us immediately if we simply go knocking on their damned gates!" said the smokin' bomb Hayato with the continuous rise of his voice until he ended his sermon screaming in the top of his lungs.

"I extremely don't get it!" exclaimed the boxer with his eyebrows meeting in the center of his forehead.

"Aahh!" Gokudera let himself fall on the ground with a thud.

Yamamoto was smiling as the silver-haired boy finished his tantrum. Then, he lightly chuckled as the two finished their exchange.

"What are chuckling at, stupid baseball freak?" Gokudera turned his glare on the carefree Yamamoto Takeshi.

"Hahaha. Nothing. This setting just reminds me of my childhood days when we go on a camping trip. We build a bonfire and roast marshmallows and sing all night long. We sleep on the ground in our sleeping bags and tell stories until we fall asleep. Ah…good times, good times." said the rain guardian as he shook his head lightly with a smile plastered on his (Gokudera: annoying) face.

"How come that with all the possible and highly efficient Mafiosoes in this world, the two of you gets to be chosen? I am so unlucky even to be within fifty meters from you. And that's saying something since I came from Italy." whispered Gokudera under his breath.

"Hahaha…now, now. Don't say things such as that Gokudera-kun. I'm sure Tsuna wouldn't want you to hear that."

Gokudera felt a sudden twinge in his heart as he remembered his oh-my-beloved boss was away from him and he had nothing else to do but to wait and plan for their next attempt to rescue his boss. He remained in that state, mulling things over; remembering what it was like to be with his boss. How Tsuna praised him for his hard work. What Tsuna had said to bring him back to his feet when he was feeling down. How concerned his boss was every time he faints upon seeing his sister. And about that time when…

Roar!

His thread of wistful thinking snapped.

"Will you shut your stomach up, Lawn-head!"

"You are extremely louder, Octopus-head!"

"Hahaha. Yes, during our camping trips, we used to have fun fighting too. Ah..Such times eh?"

Roar! This time, the earth shook.

"Huh?"

"For the second time, that was not me. And how extreme his stomach is, whoever he is, to shake the earth with that. Hey! Join the boxing club!"

"Shut up!" yelled Gokudera in a desperate (and useless) attempt to quiet him down.

"But why? How can he hear about joining the boxing club if I whisper it to him? Men should be EXTREME!"

At that same moment, a bulging head of a monster loomed into view, followed by a helicopter which the monster swatted like a fly. The monster padded towards the direction of the clearing where the three Vongola guardians were at.

"Hey, that looks like…"

**...ooo00800ooo...**

**Can you guys guess who that was? Don't think too hard or your brain cells will suffer! *LOL***

**For those who reviewed this story: Thank you sooo much! I'm inspired to write more.**


	3. Chapter 5

**CHAPTER 5: MY GUARDIANS IN DIRTY ARMOR**

"Enzo! Face me you coward!" yelled a certain blond man who carried a whip with him. He was struggling against the low tree branches and the upturned roots. His struggle in the jungle lasted for a whole 15…20 minutes. Even Enzo stopped to watch this peculiar being. The guardians took all their time to vanish from one spot to another successfully. Until finally; he marched into the clearing with a triumphant look on his face.

"Aha! You stupid Enzo, I have finally caught up with you. Prepare to meet your first defeat in my hands!" declared Dino courageously while all this time unrolling his tangled whip.

"You…just…wait. I'll…definitely…no…won't…lose…again…me…boss…you…"

"AHA!"

_ Finally_, he untangled the uncooperative weapon with an evident flush on his face after all the effort he put up into untangling his _personal_ weapon.

"He looks so stupid, doesn't he?" whispered Ryohei in a matter-of-fact voice (it sounded like a normal voice for once, but fortunately, Dino didn't hear the statement).

"You can add "extreme" to the statement." answered Gokudera with an evident tick mark on his forehead.

"Ha ha ha...you can say that again."

Unfortunately (or fortunately for him), the boss of the Cavallone family was oblivious to their ongoing conversation. He was so concentrated on planning how to finally defeat his own _subordinate_. And a further unfortunate event is having no subordinate around him to bring out his hibernating power.

"Enzo, you coward, prepare! For I will beat you right here, right now. I'm going to show you who's boss.

Now, stay still!" the blond was obviously sweating with the effort to walk through the brambles scattered around. From afar, the trio could hear him grunt as he did all his best to get near Enzo.

"You…just…wait." Enzo just stared absentmindedly at his master. Even Gokudera, who watched it with pretend boredom, had fallen prey for the man's misery.

"Hey…if you think that Sawada's here, how come Dino doesn't have Sawada with him?"

Gokudera actually considered the question. But it was Yamamoto who answered it first.

"Maybe he doesn't know it himself" stated Yamamoto with the obvious glint of amusement in his eyes.

"I was going to say that, baseball freak." objected the one who was robbed from the opportunity to speak his wisdom.

"Hahaha, sorry Gokudera-kun."

"Don't call me that. We're not close."

The one-sided bickering continued for a long while. They did not even notice that it had started to rain.

"I just don't understand why you got in the mafia. I've tried every formula I know of-"

"Hey, why did you stop, octopus head? I kind of extremely enjoyed it." said Ryohei with an interested look on his face.

"Shut up, can't you feel that it's starting to rain? We've got to find somewhere that can shelter us from -"

"-The rain? Hahaha." supplemented Yamamoto.

"Oh no…from him." Gokudera pointed a shaking finger towards the horizon. Where they were supposed to see the horizon, they only saw the dark outline of a monstrous being as it got bigger, bigger and bigger.

"Roar!"

"Run!" roared the turtle and the bomber simultaneously.

The three ran as fast as they could. One could imagine that Gokudera and Yamamoto could be at par with Ryohei when their precious lives are in line.

"Wow! You guys are extreme! Join the boxing club!"

"Hahaha…sorry, I would if the practice schedules aren't against the baseball club."

"We're getting overrun!" Gokudera quickened his pace as much as possible.

"Extreme! He's gaining on us!"

Enzo thumped his way through the trees as if they were nothing but weeds. It was still raining, which let the guardians have the full disadvantage. First, as seconds pass (*laugh* first-seconds. Get it? Never mind), Enzo was getting bigger and bigger. Second, it was raining so hard, they didn't see where they were going. Last, the path was so slippery that they wasted their precious time recovering from their fall.

Enzo was almost on them. A hundred meters left…Gokudera slipped; 50 meters…Yamamoto did an amazing exhibition in the air (EXTREME!); 30 meters remaining…they can see light ahead; they burst into a gloom.

"Roar!"

"ARGH!"

"This is fun!"

"Extreme!"

They continued running even after starting to feel their sides hurting. They did not look back nor cared about anything but their flight. It was only after a few moments that they realized that the monster was no longer following them. They slowed into a gradual pace.

"Hey, what happened to that extreme turtle? I could go on longer." pouted the boxer.

"Go run by yourself, lawn-head!"

"Hahaha. Did the Ninja Turtles finish filming? Do you think they need a take-two?"

"Kufufu…you are so hopeless. Disgusting. The Vongola doesn't need someone as useless as you three." said the illusionist as he materialized into thin air.

"Shut up! Who are you to say I don't deserve to be Jyuudaime's right-hand man?" Gokudera was near the hysterical mode.

"Shut up or I'll bite you to death." The cloud guardian was suddenly behind them.

"We have to end this, octopus head. I'm extremely hungry." complained Ryohei as he clutched his rumbling stomach.

"Right. This ends now. To save the boss is our resolve."

The guardians gazed at the glowing light in the horizon as the sun slowly brightened the sky.

**...oo00800oo...**

"It's time. Get ready.' A particular bomber whispered to his comrades while they crouched behind a thick lump of tall bushes.

"Hahaha. This is fun. We're like professionals. What game was this again?" asked one of his comrades who held a baseball bat at the ready.

"Shut up, stupid baseballs freak! And lower your damn voice or the guards might hear us." Hissed Gokudera.

"He's extremely right!" yelled another. To those who know the speaker, that was actually the closest thing to a whisper than anything else you could get from him.

"What? Who's right? Me, of course." (Hey, Gokudera, don't ask questions if you're going to answer them yourself. *Shut up!*)

"Yamamoto's right! We look extremely like professionals! This is extremely cool!"

"Shut up, stupid and idiotic lawn-head!"

Oops…so much for being professionals.

That was bad. Really bad. For them.

"What was that?" The nearby guard became alerted. The "Professionals" could then hear many sets of heavy footsteps thundering towards them.

"See? Now you've done it lawn-head!"

"Me? Why are you extremely pointing at me? You extremely yelled octopus-head?"

"There. There's someone behind those bushes. And there's smoke coming from there too. Surround the area."

"What smoke?" Gokudera glanced around.

"What the heck do you think you're doing?" boomed the unfortunate bomber. (Hey guys, this shot is actually good. He looks like a mother hen who laid her first egg for the first time! *LOL*. Yeah, this is goo- *a bomb explodes*)

The prefect and the illusionist were uh…well…here goes…Hibari Kyoya was leaning against a tree and cleaning his tonfas with a handkerchief while all the while glaring dangerously at the other. Rokudo Mukuro was having a bonfire and was roasting pineapple- shaped marshmallows (Cool huh?) at the end point of his trident (Cooler). (Kufufu…use your life wisely by praising me, writer.)

"Hn, shut up herbivore. Sawada Tsunayoshi has detention." Hibari wanted to add: I'll all bite you to death for dragging me here, for inviting the pineapple-headed herbivore and for crowding around him- but then talking too much looks so uncool.

"Kufufu…you don't even know where the Vongola is. You can't infiltrate that mansion without someone like me with unrivaled prowess." declared Mukuro. Hibari thought that it was so uncool; same with the hair.

"Shut up! O…of course I know where the tenth is. I'm his right-hand man. I have this sixth sense to know where my boss is." countered the 'right-hand man' proudly. He just could not admit that he was starting to panic. He knew that the damned pineapple bastard had a point. And a huge point it was too.

Um…we kind of forgot that tons of guards were surrounding them at the moment. Let's go back to Mars later, okay?

"Oh shoot!" Did that sum it all up?

"I'll bite you to death." Now that's more like it.

"Whoa…hahaha. Will they join the game too?"

"They're extremely many!"

"Kufufu. You're no match against me."

Gokudera heaved a huge breath. It's time for his pep talk.

"Now's our chance to-"

The sound of a swishing sword, the clash of steel against steel, the sound of faces being smashed and heads being banged, the deafening sounds of gunshots were heard within the forest. Oh, and not to mention the grunts and moans of the dying and wounded soldiers and the thud of bodies as they hit the ground.

…**oo00800oo…**

"Hiee! What was that?" Tsunahime was instantly in her panicked mode and cowered behind Bianchi. They were currently in the fitting room. Tsunahime was fitting on all the outfits Bianchi had prepared for her. For Bianchi, a mafia princess should wear at least two brand new attires each day and discard of it immediately the next day.

"It's probably some outsiders who dared to try overcome Vongola and kill us all." Bianchi let out a gentle laugh and ushered Tsunahime to the next rack of clothes. (Words and expressions don't always match. Don't you think so?)

The other girl gulped and began adapting Leon's skills. She turned white; then green; then blue; then purple.

"D-did you just say, "Kill us all?" A fast-paced and awfully loud heartbeat was heard reverberating inside the room.

Bianchi chuckled and smiled sweetly. "Don't worry Tsunahime. Everything's fine. Now, this one looks good…"

…**oo00800oo…**

The battle was over within 1 minute and 27 seconds.

What exactly happened? I'll tell you what.

Our cloud guardian smacked the nearest guard in the face with his tonfas, which caused the poor man to fly backwards for a few moments and finally hit a wall.

Our sun guardian extremely right hooked, extremely jabbed and extremely beat up everyone who came in contact with him within 5 meters radius.

Now the mist guardian was doing something incredibly cool on his own. ("Kufufu. Like I said, learn to value your petty life by praising me, writer.") He created a variety of illusions- making the guards shoot their own comrades while giving the guardian the opportunity to sit back and enjoy the gruesome sight.

The tall rain guardian was laughing all this time while simply and effortlessly cutting all the bullets shot at him with his special baseball bat- sword.

And finally, (Can we have some drum roll, please.) last but not the least amazing ("Hmph" and *blushed slightly*), the storm guardian, the self-proclaimed right hand man of the tenth Vongola boss, the handsome silver-haired teenage Mafioso from the Estraneos, the first ever subordinate of Sawada Tsunayoshi (*puff out chest proudly*), and the one and only person worthy of the name: "Smokin' bomb Hayato" (The said person was now twiddling his fingers childishly as a group of men exploding behind him became his background.). He-

…

…

…

Well…

He bombed them, duh.

("Hey! Put some life into it, you stupid excuse of an author." Bombed Gokudera with his voice.)

(*Clears throat*) That aside, most of the guards were either lying around with wounds or murmuring their death wishes when Gokudera took his cue.

"Everyone! This way!"

"Kufufu. Since when did he become the boss?" asked Mukuro more to himself with a chilly gleam of his eyes. But he followed the advancing group, nonetheless. The door was bombed open for them.

And so, dear fan-friends, the infiltration mission is a complete success. Or is it?

…**oo00800oo…**

"Ouch! Bianchi, that hurts!" cried a certain girl as Bianchi tightened the corset on the girl's abdomen.

"Just stay still, Tsunahime. Stop squirming. You're making it hard for the both of us."

Tsunahime heeded her and stopped squirming. Bianchi tied the ribbon behind her back and slipped a gown above her head.

"There, oh my. You look lovely!" exclaimed Bianchi while jumping up and down and with matching twinkling eyes.

"Hiee! This is embarrassing. What would the guys say if they saw me like this? What would Kyoko-chan say?"

"She'll be delighted to know that you were a girl all along! And you're a cute one too. Oh, I wish that perverted doctor's mosquito also accidentally bit Hayato. I've always wanted to braid his silky hair. But he won't let me touch a single strand." Bianchi pouted beautifully.

_ Wow. I wish I was as beautiful as Bianchi_, thought Tsunahime. _What? What m I thinking? Am I accepting my fate as a girl? No! This is utterly ridiculous! Maybe it was Xanxus all along who got bitten. Yes, that must be it. Huh? What would he look like? There's still a chance that they'll bring me back. And what would Gokudera do if he heard what Bianchi had just said?_ A sudden gentle smile formed on Tsuna's lips. Yes, what would he do?

Bianchi noticed her smile and smiled back. Tsuna's smile only got wider.

Boom!

A shrill voice was heard after the door exploded into smithereens, scattering dust and wood parts in every direction.

"Tenth! We've come to res-"

Newsflash: Smokin' Bomb Hayato had just F-A-I-N-T-E-D.

On what grounds? There are three _simple_ reasons:

1. His beloved Jyuudaime was wearing a pink ball gown.

2. He saw his sister's face without a mask.

3. His beloved Jyuudaime was looking exceptionally pretty in that pink ball gown.

Gokudera was blue in the face before he hit the solid floor.

**...oo0080oo...**

**Someone guessed the right answer! It was kind of obvious, right? Can you please review this chapter? just to let me know what you think of it. I kind of get nervous, you know- whether I'm hurting your eyes when you read this or not. **

**I also thought about something: Share your lines! (Cheesy ;^/)**

**What would you like to happen next? You could share with me what some dialogues you would want when i begin with the pairings.**

**Thanks for checking this out! I hope you like it.**


	4. Intervention

**CHAPT-**

**A SERIES OF UNFORTUNATE EVENTS (For the Author)**

"Unh. Where am I? His head was throbbing slightly as he slowly got up. He felt his head with his palm to discover to his relief that seeing his big sister did not cause any further damage. Grasping the nearby table to steady him, he got out of the bed and studied his surroundings for the first time.

He was in a spacious room lined with wooden walls. How ancient, he thought smugly. It smelled strongly of cigarette smoke and gun powder. Being one who was gifted with a strong sense of smell, he noticed the faint hint of perfume. It was a feminine perfume. The smell became stronger; too persistent to invade his nostrils that Gokudera just allowed the overwhelming smell possess his being.

The one who owns this must have a gentle persona. It must be someone delicate and needs to be cared for and loved wholly. I would gladly volunteer if only I-"He tensed suddenly after hearing a chair scraping the floor.

He felt his muscles contract as he lowered himself into a crouch, with his hands deep inside his pockets. He stealthily inched his hands closer to his deepest pockets where he kept his last round of bombs and grasped them tightly. His adrenaline rushing through his system, he did not let any second thoughts run through his mind and ignited his bombs, on the ready to stuff it on his attacker's throat. Someone moved behind him on the shadows. He aimed precisely and threw his weapon towards the direction of the noise.

BOOM!

There was no time to react and the fact that he had just woken up left him no advantage to dodge the incoming bomb. The bomb unfortunately exploded on its owner's face.

"Damn you!" screamed the unfortunate bomber. Good thing he was bomb proof. I mean, what kind of bomber would he be if he was not immune to this kind of thing? There's talent and skills here, people. Gokudera was evidently blushing under the soot and smoke.

"What made you extremely do that, octopus-head?" The slight smell feminine perfume emanated from him of (Tsunahimme's perfume stuck to him when he hugged the girl tightly when he saw her earlier. But of course the storm guardian has no knowledge of that.).

Ah...enlightenment is dawning on me now. So it was no other than our sun guardian, Ryohei, whom he wanted to care for and love wholly.

How lovely! I'm obviously squirming in delight with the thought of presenting to you the award- winning story of two individuals as they travel the path named "love" together and of how they overcome the hindrances to their unconditional love for each other. Let's add in the description of how they looked at each other with googly and teary eyes as they utter the most powerful words' "I love-"

**...oo00800oo...**

Neighbouring author: I'm sorry to inform you that Mikage-me07, the author of "1234: There's Only One Thing to Do; Three Words for You" has been missing for two days now. The authorities have found her entire room bombed away by, until now, unknown suspect/s). The authorities are currently undergoing investigation in the said area but handed over to my possession the manuscript of her story which they found splattered with blood, burned on the edges and halfway in the shredder (Dysfunctional. That's why the authorities were able to retrieve it.

Please stay alert and don't panic. We can do nothing but wait and pray for Mikage-me07's safety. And in behalf of my fellow author, I ask for our patience in case she can't be in the perfect condition to update her story.

We thank you for your pouts and complaints. Good day.


	5. Chapter 6

**Hi guys! I'm back! If you're wondering where I went, just ask…um…I think we'll just keep it at that before something horrible happens again.**

**I created a poll by the way, so feel free to vote whomever it is that you fancy. You can also tell me to add more choices.**

**Anyway, let's not keep this long (Grins maniacally.) or I might find myself wandering in the death mountain ag- (Oops! That was confidential. Forget what you read…or else.).**

** CHAPTER : THE HERO (?) IN DISTRESS**

"Um…" Tsunahime could just not bring herself to stop thinking about her storm guardian. Gokudera fainted yesterday upon seeing her (And there are also some factors added in.), which made her worry to the maximum level.

_What would he say? How can I explain this? Should I go inside and show him what else has changed for him to believe me? Maybe he bumped his head _(She glanced at the closed door hopefully.)_ and forgot what he saw. Why are they here, anyway? Did something happen in Japan?_ She bit her nails and continued pacing back and forth along the corridor. According to Bianchi's book, Chapter 4 contains: Bite your nails in public and it's bye- bye to handsome guys. _Eew_. But she just could not help it. She was so agitated.

She decided that she would talk to her storm guardian first to avoid mental, intellectual and possibly physical damage since he was her right hand man and it would certainly hurt his feelings if she did otherwise. As she was mulling over the entire multitude of thoughts that came barging in simultaneously into her mind gates- frightening, soothing, brain churning and the like- she heard the sound of an explosion inside the room. She hurried towards it and bearing the fact that she was wearing a long dress, she tripped and fell face-first towards the door.

"What the-" Gokudera readied another set of bombs and ignited them. He was currently bombing the wall open to continue his search for his Jyuudaime when the door fell off its hinges. He did not give himself a second chance to think everything over and threw them straight to the door where a figure with a frilly and lacey dress lay in a crumpled form.

_An assassin! Tch, to think that they would even use a girl to subdue me. Huh. As if I would heed to that. I have pledged on celibacy until Jyuudaime finds himself a wife_. He was cooling down to his relaxed mode when he heard a signature shriek.

"Eeiihh!" Oh no! Without further ado, he ran as fast as his tired legs would carry him and flung himself down to his Jyuudaime.

It was a good thing that he threw his bombs in a rainbow fashion; it gave him time to react and get to where he was now. He was able to save his Jyuudaime, but he did not save himself.

Cough. Cough. Cough some more. Cough until you cough up blood (I was only joking. Hey, I looove Gokudera Hayato, don't you? Cough deeply.) Last cough. Okay, that's enough.

"Jy…jyuudaime? Are you okay?" The one he was holding tightly against his chest coughed her own feminine cough, which Gokudera responded to by gulping uncontrollably, and looked up to see her knight in soot and dirt.

A pair of sea green eyes gazed down at her with fully expressed concern. She could feel his hard chest against hers (It's a little bumpy in here.) and feel his hot breath fan her face as he struggled for breath.

"I…I'm fine Gokudera-kun. What about-?" She gasped loudly. Blood was trickling down her guardian's face, which came from the top of his head.

"You're hurt! Oh my, Gokudera-kun, get up! Let's get you to the hospital!" The girl squirmed under his weight and got free when he budged a little to his side. He was struggling for air and tried to clear his vision but to no avail.

A grunt issued from his throat as he tried to get up but he only managed to get up on his knees and would have hit his head on a huge block of cement previously called "wall" if not for the pair of arms, which held him into a comfortable sitting position.

Now it was _his_ turn to stare back at the damsel- turned- heroine- who- saved- him- from- his- distress's pair of big brown orbs. His breath caught in his stricken throat, he could not help but utter a weak "Wow" with a gasp.

"Gokudera-kun, are you okay? Stay with me, Gokudera-kun! Don't die yet! Don't leave me!" Poor Tsunahime, she was hysterical.

_What a bastard he is, _he thought angrily_, to make my Jyuudaime cry. Where is that bastard? I'll get him for this, even if it's the last thing I do. My life is meaningless if Jyuudaime is not happy anyway_. He tried to say a few words of comfort or to lift his arms but he just couldn't. Lights were blinking in front of his eyes as he did all his best to stay focused on the tearful- eyed angelic face in front of him. _All I have to do is refill my stocks and…wow. What a nice perfume you wear Jyuudaime. Where did you buy that? I'll buy some for you once we get out of here. Is that your favorite Jyuudaime? Why are you so pretty? Did my sister do this to you? You must be suffering endlessly now, wearing that stupid dress that looks too good on you._ _What was big sister playing at? _All these thoughts kept churning and turning inside his head that they seemed to be spoken by some kind of far away and ethereal voice. He did not even remember a group of uniformed men carry him on a stretcher and also the double doors that led to a white- walled corridor. All he could remember was his Jyuudaime's tear- streaked face as (s)he held his hands tightly in hers. He could not here her encouragements anymore; he was deaf to the world.

_What a bastard he is, he thought with a dark aura, to make my Jyuudaime cry._


	6. Chapter 7

**CHAPTER 7**

**FREAKY FRIDAY **

Throw an evil glance there. Direct another there. And we're done; everybody is looking the other way with "I'm in mental shock" printed on their forehead. That seemed to be the case as a certain Japanese school prefect made his way through the hospital crowd. The "crowd" were either flattening themselves against the walls, wishing futilely that they were part of the white wall, rendering them invisible or cowering under the benches, now wishing they were made of wood instead of a body that can shed blood when hit by some random pair of gleaming steel tonfas.

He was currently in the Vongola Hospital for Dying and Dead Mafia (No really, the ghastly name was printed in neat and bold gold letters on the building's facade.) and looking for some pathetic herbivores for their due detention. He took a sharp right; nearly knocking down a nurse in the process, then a left, then a right again, straight along a corridor and another right and finally lost his patience. He kicked down a wall or two, brought out his deadly tonfas and kicked down a couple of doors of its' hinges.

There, he thought with unexpressed satisfaction as he saw a head of brunette hair bobbing up and down just to see past a high window to have a glimpse of whatever was inside. The window was too high for her that she gave up and sat on a nearby bench; looking very forlorn indeed. But, heck, did he ever care?

He made a beeline for the herbivore with his tonfas out. He doesn't have a milligram of stupid thing called "care" when it comes to herbivores that disrupt the peace of his beloved Namimori. Even the baby could not keep him from giving these herbivores the "justice" that they were due. No babbling thing called explaining can explain to him what he doesn't want to hear. For this guardian, by being a man-uh, boy- and wearing a dress at the same time, the herbivore undoubtedly and deliciously broke his number one rule: hidden identities are forbidden.

"The" herbivore made a pathetic sound as he neared her.

"Argh! Uh...hibari-san you're...uh, here. Why...? Oh, you're...tonfas are...pretty (Although it was the last thing on her "Things that are pretty" list, she had to say it.). Ah...aha...hahaha." The said herbivore was sweating heavily that anyone would wonder if her dress was water absorbent. But he was not "anyone"'.

"Hn," raise the tonfas; a shriek was heard- perfect.

"Detention." And the herbivore paled as in really paled- nearly paper-like.

"Ah...I was thinking if we could postpone it? Because Gokudera-kun is inside the emergency room and if you give us detention right now, he might not make it out. I swear I won't run away. You know my address anyway." The herbivore was babbling.

No one was listening. It was because the supposed to be listener was busying himself in _staring_ and staring _hard_, contemplating.

Was that the herbivore's perfume? Why is it mixed with blood? There was something about her scent that attracted him like a magnet. He knew that something in his world has changed and what a drastic change it was too. Things are going to get interesting, he thought with a smirk. Tsunahime's sweat dropped.

Why is the herbivore wearing a dress? How come the herbivore has longer hair than before? She looks like a rabbit. Why is the herbivore's voice higher than normal? How did the herbivore alter his male herbivore's appearance into that of a female herbivore? How thin can the herbivore's waist get? What are those things on the herbivore's chest?

Tsunahime suddenly felt self- conscious and hugged herself absent-mindedly.

"Cold, herbivore?" A black jacket was wrapped around her within a blink of Mukuro's red eye. Hibari Kyoya sat himself on the bench and...they were only less than a foot apart. She could feel his low body temperature emanate from him to her.

"Not enough?" He moved closer.

Tsunahime's face was blood- drained. Hibari Kyoya, the ever oblivious, isolated and ruthless cloud guardian asked her if she was cold, offered her his priceless jacket, sat beside her- a crowd. And offered her... offered her...warmth?

_Wow, it's so comfy in here_, thought with a warm smile.

Nobody would have ever thought that the prefect would be this kind to her. It was like a miracle- one that happens only once in the Earth's lifetime. She banished the feeling of melancholy from her entire being. Someone was with her now; by her side, worrying (That was her part alone.) for her storm guardian. She decided that she would thank him in a simple way, her way- a smile or a glance.

Her intuition told her he was not the touchy-feely-sweetly-talky type and he would disapprove if she disrupted the silence. So she decided she would just give him a glance.

She contracted and extended every able muscle on her body to manoeuvre it and allow her to take a _silent, stealthy_ and of course, _non-obvious_ grateful glance at her guardian. Or so she thought.

A pair of steel-gray eyes was all ready staring hard at her.

"Next Friday then. In the reception room."

**...oo00800oo...**

**Well? What are you waiting for? Vote for your favourite character! I swear this is going to affect the story, people. Please review this chapter and if you would be so kind, have your friends and friends of friends read this story and review it. I'm so open to new suggestions and my friends who love Belphegor, Gaara, Natsume and Ryoma Echizen have had their fill of advising me (Though I want some more.). I'm also open for your criticisms (I'm hoping for none at all, which is impossible.) so feel free to review. **

**Who do you want to visit the hospital next?**


	7. Chapter 8

**Thanks for the reviews, everyone. I really feel happy whenever a new one is posted; it makes me think of the word "inspiration" (Laugh.). Really, I hope you recommend it to others that they may read this too and please review again.**

**I pray that you like this chapter.**

**The poll is posted on my profile, by the way. So, just check it out (mikage-me07). Thanks again.**

**CHAPTER 8**

**BLOODY ROSES**

"What are you still doing here, Tsunahime? Ushishishi." The girl immediately looked at him alarmingly. Hibari went back to the Vongola mansion after saying that he needed sleep. She wanted him to stay for a little longer, but to deprive Hibari Kyoya would mean…a lot- disaster, destruction, debacle, downfall, devastation, demolition, abolition, annihilation, assassination, bane, carnage, crashing, crushing, disintegrating, disrupting, dissolving, elimination, end, eradication, extermination, extinction, extirpation, havoc, invalidation, liquidation, loss, massacre, murder, overthrow, ravaging, ruination, sacking, shattering, slaughter, slaying, subjugation, subversion, undoing, wreckage, and the _simplest_ way to describe it: you'll be bitten to death. Anyway,

"Oh. Uh. Well. I'm waiting for Reborn and the others to…um," gee, Ms. Articulate, "to um, arrive and take Gokudera-kun back to the mansion." She was blushing furiously as she stuttered over that simple question. Well, that was understandable; Belphegor-or any of the Varia, in that case- was never a Tsunahime fan so; it was okay for her to be alarmed.

"Ushishishi. There's no need for you to be shy, princess. Can I call you princess?" Bel asked. She nodded and motioned him to sit beside her, seeing that he was still on his feet. This simple gesture wiped off Belphegor's freaky grin from his face. It was _his_ turn to redden. Noticing this, Tsunahime perked up.

"Is something wrong, Belphegor-kun?"

Bel actually gasped upon hearing this, making her panic. She rushed instinctively to his side and checked his back if he was stabbed or gunned or poked or something. He just stood there, thin lips slightly parted as he looked at her in amazement.

"There seems to be nothing wrong with you, Belphegor-kun," she smiled. Bel did some loud air-sucking retake.

"Let's take a seat, shall we?" Tsunahime made it to the bench first and compelled him to do so too with her big, wide brown eyes. Who wouldn't dare surrender?

He heeded the call of his hypothalamus (It's the part of the brain which directs our emotions. So it's not actually our heart that feels, but our hypothalamus- a fact that Bel didn't know. In fact, he wanted to rip out his heart and give it to…someone.). And he sat side by side with the jovial girl.

They sat there, in that sweet hospital bench for a _very_ long time. The air was so still by that time that when he finally spoke, Tsunahime literally jumped a few feet from her seat.

"Nobody has done that before," said Bel, reminiscing.

The "few feet from her seat" meant that she was now sitting on Bel's lap. Ultimately embarrassed, she attempted to get up only to find Bel's firm clutch on her wasp-like waist. He did not seem to mind the extra cargo on top of him but _she_ did. But Bel just went on with a far away look on his eyes.

"Nobody has ever asked me to take a seat with a genuine smile on his or her face before," said him gloomily. Upon hearing this, Tsunahime stopped struggling.

"Nobody has ever called be by my name with such concern before." He tightened his hold.

She knew, from Reborn's stories that Bel's life hadn't been that easy, especially since he was a prince and had a twin brother to compete with for the position of the king. He had been cut off, sunned away from public and left in the dark for some sane reasons his parents had. Registering the fact that it was probably the only chance that Bel would share something so deep into his life, she hushed and listened intently. Oh, she didn't mean to pry, she only thought of helping him. She contemplated that no one deserves to live such a hard life, even for a mafia. However, life is unfair. Some people do live their lives in ways that one can't even imagine. For that reason, she decided that it was worth a try.

"I'll listen Bel-kun." She smiled invitingly.

"Well. I've lived a typical life." Which part?

"Um…how typical?" she asked.

"Ushishishi. Why ask? Would you like to be my princess?" The proposal.

"What!"

"Shishi." She composed herself. That aside. "What happened?"

"I had a brother once," he smiled ruefully "but I killed him. It was his fault actually. He left his bedroom door open. Stupid brother." Tsunahime sweat dropped.

"I wanted the throne for myself. Any prince would, considering we had a vast kingdom. I did everything they told me to do. I even killed when I was four years old!" A graceful (Think of the word "bloodcurdling".) smile adorned his lips, only to loop down once more.

"Oh," was all she could say. But she figured she had to say more so she said,

"Um…must be a great accomplishment for you. What about your brother?" She shouldn't have asked. Why, oh why did she have the stupidity syndrome?

"He killed our mother when he was three." He regarded her with a disappointed look on his face while she regarded him with a petrified one.

"Ushishishi. It was kind of nice, actually (N…ni…nice?), although I hate to give him credit. Our father, the king even laughed when he saw her hanging upside down on the bloodied chandelier." How nice it was, to talk about intimate things such as four and three year old princes kill people and even their very own queen. And they were sitting in a hospital bench too, rather, him sit in a hospital bench with her on his lap and his arms wounded tightly around her waist. Really. How charming of a couple. What a great conversation by the way (Humph.).

"It has always been him. I hated him."

"Are you all right, Bel-kun?" Bel gazed steadily at her and regained his composure.

"Ushishishi. Of course I am. Any other prince can never be as cool as me." He sported a sad smile.

At that moment, Tsunahime was thinking, _how pitiful. What great pain I see in his eyes. Is that why he always grins unfeelingly? I wish I could help him_.

She racked her brain for any ideas that might cheer up the storm guardian of the Varia and discovered that her mind was so boggled by the revelation of this side of Belphegor that she found none. She looked at him and saw that he was smiling at her. It was a toothy smile like always, but this time, carried a certain degree of happiness and realness. She figured that it was no use to rush. It might sound gooey but for her, someone was on the way to help Bel; no one in the world deserves to be alone, even the bad people had sidekicks. Why can't Bel?

Before even thinking it over, she said,

"Don't give up hope, Prince Belphegor-kun. Someday, you'll find someone who will smile at you, not tire of being concerned with you, of calling out your name. Even if you know that tomorrow the world would burn and turn to dust, just do your best; like planting some rose seeds. The summer will always come smilingly, that I'm sure." and the girl gave him an alluring smile.

Bel couldn't help but register this moment of his life in his Most Worth-living Moments and know that his life has changed, forever.

_And when that day comes, I'll give you a garden full of roses_.

**NEXT on There's Only One Thing to Do Three Words For You:**

Tsunahime flushed and twiddled her fingers in a manner that screamed, "I'm coy and disgusting"- kidding! Either way the act made Yamamoto gulp evidently.

"Yes, Yamamoto-kun. It is me." She was unable to meet his eyes and avoided his gaze timidly.

"You look extremely cute, Sawada-hime," burst Ryohei. Tsunahime smiled widely in return.

"You really think so? What do you think, Yamamoto-kun?" she fixated her eyes on Yamamoto with an expectant look on her face.

"Well…uh. O…of course…I-" Yamamoto wiped off his drool momentarily with his sleeves and tried to look suddenly interested at a nearby potted plant. Reborn jumped and landed on his favorite spot- aloft Tsuna's soft curls. He had been keeping close watch on Tsunahime's progress and faced the world with a smirk (Can you think of an innocent-looking smirk?).


	8. Chapter 9

**CHAPTER 9**

**THE LOVE OF A FAMILY**

Yamamoto, Ryohei, Bianchi (now in her goggles) and Reborn soon came after that. Bel had just gone off to chase (probably kill) someone she did not know (and didn't want to know) who dared owe him money.

"Yamamoto-kun, Ryohei-niisan, Bianchi-neesan (Chapter 5: A proper lady should be courteous at all times.) And Reborn too!" Tsunahime smiled her widest smile at the approaching group. Yamamoto stopped at mid stride to focus his dark eyes on her.

"Tsu…Tsuna? Tsunayoshi Sawada?" Yamamoto was unfortunately unable to attend Reborn's "Getting to Know Tsuna Program" previously because he helped carry Gokudera awaaay from Bianchi who proposed to feed him some black pills.

Tsunahime flushed and twiddled her fingers in a manner that screamed, "I'm coy and disgusting"- kidding! Either way the act made Yamamoto gulp evidently.

"Yes, Yamamoto-kun. It is me." She was unable to meet his eyes and avoided his gaze timidly.

"You look extremely cute, Sawada-hime," burst Ryohei. Tsunahime smiled widely in return.

"You really think so? What do you think, Yamamoto-kun?" she fixated her eyes on Yamamoto with an expectant look on her face.

"Well…uh. O…of course…I-" Yamamoto wiped off his drool momentarily with his sleeves and tried to look suddenly interested at a nearby potted plant. Reborn jumped and landed on his favorite spot- aloft Tsuna's soft curls. He had been keeping close watch on Tsunahime's progress and faced the world with a smirk (Can you think of an innocent-looking smirk?).

Hm…something bad's brewing under Reborn's fedora (Like it.). Things certainly smell fishy, thought Tsuna suspiciously.

"You smell fishy Tsuna. You haven't taken a bath yet." Reborn smirked some more, now evilly.

She chose to ignore her pulverized-and-scattered-into-the-river ego. What else can she do? She sighed.

"Hn. Let's just go and check your subordinate to get this over with."

"But Reborn, don't we need to9 have a doctor's permission first?" she peeked at him with knitted eyebrows, only to discover, to her daily surprise that Reborn was dressed in a doctor's setup, with a stethoscope around his neck, to boot.

"Call me Doctor, will you?"

**...oo00800oo...**

They entered one of the most elite rooms, which was nice of Kyuudaime- to put Gokudera into one of the most expensive rooms. The door of room 920 was marked with the name "Smokin' Bomb Hayato" printed in gold letters. And below the name was a message that said:

"_You are now entering the territory of Smokin' Bomb Hayato. So, beware of possible incidents that would cause to _your_ death_.

The one who put up the sign must have gotten to Gokudera's bad side at the wrong place and the wrong time for the warning read on,

_Please enter with caution but if you're looking for trouble, just go on in without any useless second thoughts and lose your left arm, like me. Don't be afraid; I was just joking_."

After reading this, Tsunahime gulped noticeably and did have second thoughts. _Maybe Gokudera-kun is not in the mood. I'll try again next time._ She spun on her heels and hadn't even taken another breath when he heard a gun being loaded. _I'll wait for that next time, I think_. She faced the door. But nobody in their right minds would not be not afraid because that the doorknob was painted red with blood.

**"**So he used his right hand to open the door now, did he?" Reborn was clearly amused. But Tsunahime was feeling entirely different. She didn't know which feeling she should feel first- worry, nervousness, fright, hopelessness, anxiety, agony, concern, distress- all negative; it was a wonder she hadn't dropped down convulsing yet. But now was not the time for dilly dallying. She came for a visit, so it was only right to give her friend the visit he was due. She started to open the door. But Reborn beat her up to it, after muttering "pathetic". He shot the door down dead (Like dead as a doornail?); that aside.

"Gokudera-kun, are you awake?" Her timid voice carried throughout the entire room. Gokudera pretended to wake up to the song of angels. What the heck was he expecting for doing that, a kiss from his true love to break him from the spell? _Shut up_!

"I'm glad, Gokudera-kun." She sat beside his bed and stared straight into his sea-green eyes. DJ, romantic song please and kindly put the lights out. There, disconcert- uh, _lovely_ sight. It was a lovely and totally romantic sight.

"Were you surprised of our entrance, Gokudera-kun? Ha-ha-ha. The kid did awesome."

"I think so," was his apprehensive reply. Talk about shocking changes but by thunder! He had to be nice. His beloved boss was present.

"What? That was extremely loud and you didn't hear it? You had some extremely effective earplugs!"

A lightning striking down the Eifel tower defined his patience snapping.

"Of course I heard it, lawn-head. How could I not? I heard your pathetic voice as you read it in a painstakingly slow way," barked Gokudera snippily.

"Is it true, octopus-head? You took his arm off? That was extremely disgusting," Ryohei was obviously revved up, as always.

"Speak for your drool, lawn-head!" The notion of impressing his Jyuudaime chucked out of the window with a heavy rock tied to it.

"What did you say, octopus-head?" And not soon enough, the both of them were breathing fire down each other's necks. The storm guardian observably inched his reach closer to his IV lines. Tsunahime watched the whole exchange with a smile gracing her lips.

"Hayato," said a serene voice and with that. Gokudera turned as still as still as a particular statue in Washington, D. C.

"Don't worry, Gokudera-kun, Bianchi-neesan's wearing her goggles." That, apparently, did not assure him one bit. In fact, he even panicked.

"_Nee-san_?did you just call her _nee-san_?" He asked incredulously while pointing a condemning finger at his sister.

"That's rude, Gokudera-kun!" she slapped away his finger. Gokudera withdrew his aching finger and wounded heart to nurse it back to health with the evident flush and river full of salty tears in his eyes. He just wanted to nurse it back to health, no matter the ache. If ever that happens.

Bianchi beamed. "Isn't it great? I'll have someone to accompany me in the kitchen," Bianchi twirled in the spot with stars in the air while Tsunahime envisioned her future with stars dancing in front of her eyes. What was it again? Oh yeah- "horror" was her future bestfriend.

"Bianchi's a good cook, Tsunahime-dame. You finally, _finally_ found something useful to do with your life, what with sampling all the food first," stated the sun arcobaleno in a matter-of-fact voice that made Tsunahime want to cry her eyes out.

**...oo00800oo...**

They managed to have Gokudera back in the mansion that very same day. Honestly, nobody seemed to stop them. Having Reborn with you certainly has its unrivaled benefits...and shortcomings. Let me clear it up: shortcomingsssssss. The hospital really gives the impression of being an institute made for the dying and dead Mafioso and she certainly did not want anybody dying on her.

"Hey, watch it, lawn-head!" Poor Gokudera got bumped when Ryohei dashed in his extremes to the top of the staircase.

"Extreme! Climbing the stairs could extremely serve as extreme workout!"

"Ha-ha-ha. You're right Sasagawa-san!" Yamamoto followed suit, also knocking Gokudera a bit. That teeny bit shattered Gokudera's property labeled "patience" into a gazillion pieces.

As the ranting went on, Tsunahime had kept an alluring smile pasted on her lips. She watched them do their thing endlessly. Oh, how she loves these guys. She laughed her now feminine laugh (Chapter Six of the How to be a Grrrl Manual: a delicate and highly feminine laugh befits an elegant woman.) and everyone froze to capture the moment.

"I'm so glad that you're here with me, everyone. I'm so glad that we're back together. You can't imagine how worried and sad I was without you," stated Tsunahime feelingly. The last syllable has not yet successfully parted from her lips when she found Gokudera kneeling on the floor in front of her and cried a river of tears enough to drown her dress.

"Jyuudaime! Oh, Jyuudaime, I'm so sorry i couldn't rescue you earlier than I did. I'm so sorry, boss. I'm not fit to be your right hand man! I'm not even worthy to be missed by you! Go on with the punishment, boss. I accept your judgement wholeheartedly! Go on, Jyuudaime, take the knife, and take the knife ("What knife"? Ryohei glanced around him sceptically while reborn said, "Well said, maybe I should write his name in my death note". Reborn somehow acquired Ryuk's outfit and was now at home with it.). And plunge it into my ungrateful heart! You've done so much for me, yet I've been useless! I will resign now and be a monk instead-" the State of the Nation Address would have reached a whole era to finish if not for the warm feeling that began to seep into Gokudera's chest. Now he began to fathom out butterflies existing in his belly.

"Gokudera- kun," began Tsunahime as she held onto him tightly. "Don't say such things that break my heart. Having all of you in my life had been the most priceless gift that I don't know how to start celebrating it. I may be too weak to protect the people that I love, but when I'm with you, believe me, I'll even battle in a losing fight right now and still win. It may be my selfishness kicking in, but I don't care. I won't let anyone leave." She pulled back from the heart breaking lava hot embrace to gaze into his tear- streaked face.

Silence engulfed the whole staircase. It was soothing, for them who were gathered there, sharing such moments were a treasure they would never forget. The silence spoke for all of them. They were saying the same things to each other anyway and the music that filled their hearts would suffice to make them invincible, as a family who-

"Voi! What are you all doing? You all look so stupid" the Shinigami silenced him. Don't ask me how. You would not want to know. They all blinked and looked at each other. Tsunahime laughed, then Reborn smiled, and soon enough all of them were laughing contentedly.

It was then that she realized_ I was born for them_.

**...oo00800oo...**

**Well? What do you think about this? I think I'm running out of ideas but don't worry, I just have to polish my next train of thought and all is well.**

**So far, Xanxus is winning in votes and I don't think that the other guardians would back down just yet.**

**NEXT ON THERE'S ONLY ONE THING TO DO, THREE WORDS FOR YOU:**

**Nobody but her appeared to be to be the only existing being to care that the world was at the brink of destruction (and that's saying something since it's not even 2012 yet). Her guardians and the Varia were still undeniably scary deadly as they held their newest set of weapons threateningly at each other. Reborn remarked: **

**"I knew we shouldn't have used silverwares."**


	9. Chapter 10

**CHAPTER 10**

**LET'S DI(N)E TOGETHER**

A kick landed on her face.

"Ouch! Reborn, what was that?" Tsunahime rubbed her cheek gently with one hand while using the other for cover.

"Don't you even know what a kick is? Dame- Tsuna." He answered bluntly but the words cut her deeply. Her lower lip shook and she began to cry a new Kohaku River of tears. Even her new name was dubbed "useless", not just her name, but also her whole being.

"Reborn," was all she could utter. Her ears reddened in embarrassment. How embarrassing it was to be called useless in front of her guardians, the Varia and the ninth. And how n- barrassing it was to be kicked in front of them without any hint of struggle. The worst is to be stared at with pity (except, you know) since all of the above was true. How z- barrassing it was. How she wished to give everything she owned to evaporate on the spot and disappear on the vents.

The reason of her new profound downfall was this: dinner- with everyone. And I say _everyone_. Reborn decided that they would dine peacefully (tsk) and so they were obligated (forced) to comply (go willingly to their deathbed). To avoid any battles, Reborn also devised a plan (much to his amusement and to the others, disgust) to leave their weapons in a chest located at the door.

Everyone made an extremely violent reaction to this. It ended the usual way: each guardian threatening to kill each other on the spot, which made Tsunahime sweat drop. To the guardians, it did not matter if the victim was an ally or foe; all that mattered was the number of heads they can serve on a platter.

Lussuria got himself seated on the table first, without any complains. He left his gloves on the golden chest and moved on, his pinky waving madly in the air. Mammon went next after leaving his sack after sack of bills, coins, gems, and artifacts because Reborn considered such items as dangerous on a whole new different level. Ryohei followed with "extreme!" echoing in the dining hall. Kyuudaime left his staff and noticeably relaxed. Bianchi left an oven, knives and spatulas, plates, poisoned cooking, herbs and live insects and vials after vials of mean-looking but nice- smelling poisons (I don't know where that came from). Mukuro went "Kufufu" and so went did his trident too. Squalo voi-ed and removed his sword from his arm, which meant he left half of his upper right limb (disconcerting sight). Xanxus fired a round of dying will flame bullets at Squalo before dropping his guns ("Voi! Damn you, stupid Boss!"). hibari hn-ed and placed his tonfas awaaay from the other's weaponries while giving off the aura that simply spelled "I'll bite you to death". Tsunahime was about to drop her gloves and pills when,

"Keep it Tsuna, you'll need it." And Reborn left with a smirk.

Yamamoto laughed gaily and dropped his katana. Gokuera slouched over and became the "walking bank".

He recovered bombs from his inside pockets, trouser pockets, the back of his ears, inside his shirt, lining of his jacket, his sleeves, his shoes and socks, and finally, the last and least expected- a miniature bomb inside his locket. Tsuna _accidentally_ caught a glimpse at it and blushed furiously. Gokudera's locket held only one picture: hers. The picture was taken when he was still a boy, while laughing heartily. _With all of them_, she reminisced. Her storm guardian apparently did not notice her staring and smiled his only-for-Jyuudaime smile. She felt warm inside when she did but also felt lonely. Now that things had changed drastically, she did not need her hyper intuition to tell her that things are going to be awkward with her and her guardians. Until now, a disturbing thought keeps crossing her mind. Will her guardians still accept her as their boss? Or worse, will they still accept her as a friend? She dared not dwell on wondering about the frightening answer. She was too scared. Nothing sucks greater than being an outcast. She knew the feeling very well, ever since she was but a child. With her guardians, she felt warm and secure. She had vowed to herself and to them that she would protect them, no matter what, like how her friends would protect her. Maybe even more. Gokudera was still smiling, she noticed. It was so contagious that she couldn't help but respond with a smile that made him blush. He quickly turned on his heels and hurried (actually fled form her) to his designated seat. She followed, bewildered, and took the only empty seat. She gulped. It was on the right hand side of the ninth Vongola boss.

"Now, now, Reborn. Don't be too hard on Tsuna. Her mind may still be boggled from the shock of these unexpected happenings. Anyone (unfortunately, some people inside the room weren't included in the notion of "anyone") can understand that it's been hard on him…uh, her. She lived her life as a boy in fifteen years, let's not forget." Kyuudaime looked at her with concern, kindness and understanding, not pity. Tsunahime expelled the breath that she had been unconsciously holding and smiled alluringly to Kyuudaime, which of course, he returned, much to the disgust of our Anti-Tsunahime Party.

Xanxus interjected crossly. "I understand if you're not hungry, but I am." He picked up his knife and began cutting his roasted beef into neat squares. The Kyuudaime kept quiet and followed suit. Soon,the dining hall was filled with the sounds of clashing silverwares against the porcelain dishes, and….some, uh, other noises. Then, an entirely different kind of clash happened.

"Voi! Can't you eat quietly and close your mouth when you chew, trash?" Squalo, also gracelessly, began shooting food chunks at them. Moral lesson: if you're going to tell on somebody, be sure that you are faultless first (Shut up, or I'll drown you! Stupid author!)

"But I'm extremely hungry! I haven't extremely eaten real food for days!" countered Ryohei and resumed his eating spree. Food bits flew everywhere and unfortunately, for you and for the entire human race (and me), a small chunk of broccoli found its way to hell- on Hibari's plate.

"I'll bite you to death," promised the prefect as he hoisted his…silverwares in front of him with a piece of steak stuck on the fork. He directed his killing intent to Squalo, who was across him on the table.

"Me? Why are you looking at me? That pig of a sun guardian did it!" Squalo pointed an accusing swo, uh, fork at Ryohei.

"To the extreme! I extremely don't know what you're talking about. Let's eat peacefully, to the extreme!" Food rained down on them some more.

"Hey! Will you keep you mouth shut when you chew, lawn head," complained the irritated Gokudera.

"Ha-ha-ha, come on, guys. We're in the dining hall. Can't you just postpone it for later?" he saw Ryohei dripping in soup. "But if it's going to be a food fight, I don't mind." Then he launched a sweet corn catapult at Belphegor.

"Ushishishi. You're going to pay for this with your life." Bel had a makeshift sling at the ready, which was made of some sort of a slimy string and a fork as the handle; in it was the ever-ready meatball and aimed it purposefully at Yamamoto. He pulled it and let go. Up, up and away went the meatball. Up, up and- splat!

Xanxus' face became red with sauce and rage. He threw a pasta-full plate and hit Mammon instead. And so on and so forth…can you just imagine what it was like? Sounds fun, eh? For one person, not quite.

Bianchi was feeding Reborn with a love spoon; Kyuudaime kept complimenting the cook for the excellent dishes. Nobody but her appeared to be to be the only existing being to care that the world was at the brink of destruction (and that's saying something since it's not even 2012 yet). Her guardians and the Varia were still undeniably scary deadly as they held their newest set of weapons threateningly at each other. Reborn remarked:

"I knew we shouldn't have used silverwares."

The new set of deadly arms cashed with each other. All guardians had their weapons at the ready. Only one person had a shield- her. Tsunahime had a large silver tray in front of her for protection; take note of the word _protection_. She did not even bother bring out her gloves. And even if she did bring them out, she would rather have accepted an interview with Oprah and screamed "I'm a tapeworm!" than be involved in the Vongola-Varia-food-battle-to-death. As food and silverware rained down on every direction, Tsunahime was busy defending her only life form the shinigamis- namely Vongola and Varia.

Everything was in this peaceful (considered) and normal state of life when, a small piece of steak landed on the most notorious shinigami inside the rom, who was currently being fed with a love spoon.

**...oo0800oo...**

**Well, how do you think it's going so far? I just finished my exams and hurried to update this chapter, once I get the hang of writing once more, I promise to update faster. Thank you for your reviews and please keep voting! here's a sneak peak to the next chapter:**

**A small chunk of steak landed on Reborn's plate. Everyone was shouting "Die! Die!" at each other and entirely did not notice Reborn's darkened expression.**

**"Who did that?" Nobody listened.**

**"You're all going to die."**


	10. Chapter 11

**CHAPTER 11**

**HOW TO BLACKMAIL THE BLACKMAILERS**

A small chunk of steak landed on Reborn's plate. Everyone was shouting "Die! Die!" at each other and entirely did not notice Reborn's darkened expression.

"Who did that?" Nobody listened.

"You're all going to die." Tsunahime deflected a fork with her plate-turned-shield.

"That's it." Reborn loaded his gun, aimed and shoot. Unfortunately, the bullet was for the only person concerned for the world meeting its destruction.

"Hiiee!" Everyone stopped in midair to _stare_. Only Levi was left shouting "Die! Die!" at Lussuria's butt. Reborn shot him in the head.

"That's more like it. Threaten each other and this failure dies. I actually don't mind." Reborn emanated such dark aura that the candle lights seemed pretty useless. Silence. More staring. Everyone's gazes never left Tsunahime, as if calculating if it was truly okay to have the next Vongola boss eradicated. For Tsunahime, it was all ready decided. She began to sweat some sticky liquid.

_How could Reborn even think of using me as blackmail? Nobody would surely listen. The Varia wants me gone! Reborn's threat is so useless. That means I'm going to drop down dead in any minute now. I can't even think of my prayers. Think! Tsunahime, you've only goy seconds to live! Say your prayers and you might glimpse salvation. Oh no, I can't think. Reborn said that a brain is needed. I can't do this! I don't want to die! What about mom and dad? Lambo, I-pin, Fuuta, everyone please tell Kyoko I died an honorable death; like falling off a cliff because Reborn- no! That was so not honorable. Maybe I joined the army? Yes, I got blown into smithereens. Horrible. So horrible. I'm going to die in this frilly dress, in these stupid killer heels (Chapter 10 in How to be a Grrrl Manual: Heels makes a good impression on dignity) and I've got make-up on too! Oh, the shame! The shame!_

Tsunahime became so engrossed in her prayers that she made a start when a chair creaked. She was currently thinking if St. Peter accepts no brains in heaven when she happened to see something from the corner of her eyes. She looked up.

The war veterans were quietly seating themselves like nothing happened. But things did happen, in fact. Many things happened. The whole non-living dining hall was proof. The chairs they sat on now were missing its legs or its backrest but the guardians unceremoniously pieced together like some kind of jigsaw puzzle. Nobody uttered a single sound. From Tsunahime's point of view, they almost looked revere- like.

Everyone worked in profound silence. Her mouth was widely open beyond repair.

"Hn. Looks like I found the most powerful blackmail of all." The sun arcobaleno smirked, satisfied. Her mouth was still open beyond repair. But what use is Reborn's physician outfit if not for this? He kicked her squarely on the jaw.

"Yow! Reborn! What was that for? The teary- eyed teenage girl massaged her jaw gently.

"Eat," was all he replied and sat down.

Tsunahime was startled beyond re- (Reborn glanced sharply at her. She gulped loudly) Uh, to see that the whole table had been replaced and was now adorned with trays after trays of food. All were eating their own fill silently with the occasional, stealthy and sometimes weird momentary look at Tsunahime.

Wow. Excellent service, thought Tsunahime admiringly. She pondered for a while about this strange phenomenon. Maybe she had her mouth open for a long time? And why did they stop? She can understand it some of her friends would feel alarmed with the blackmail, but the Varia? She did not expect such a feat in her life. Maybe they wanted to be friends? She instantly brightened up with the idea and resumed her seat. She felt all warm and fuzzy inside. Friends! Us! The Varia! She kept thinking over and over again how nice and wonderful that would be that she rained smiles on all of them. She couldn't and wouldn't want to stop her smiling spree. She went on and on until she looked like Yamamoto's sane sister. Then, she smiled at Xanxus despite him staring daggers (actually, he was just staring but this is according to Tsunahime) which caught him by sweet surprise. To cover his shock, he said:

"Humph. Just eat…scum." He faced his dinner with raised fork, as if willing the chops to talk back tauntingly at him.

Reborn smirked and glanced meaningfully at Kyuudaime. The ninth Vongola boss nodded and smiled cheerfully, which made him look 10 years younger. _This will mark the beginning. _

**...oo00800Ooo...**_  
><em>

**I kind of like to join them for dinner too. I just can't wait for dessert! Ha-ha. (drools)**

**Do you want me to keep up posting sneak peeks of the next chapters? What can you say about this new chapter? Just review this story to tell me, okay?**

**Xanxus is still winning the votes, people.  
><strong>

**Anyway, Tsunahime is going on a nerve- whacking, heartstring- pulling, explosion- sounding, heart- warming, and romantic-but-not-so-romantic adventure! So, please keep following Tsunahime and her family wherever they go and keep both eyes on the look out her potential hero. Keep voting!**

**(Mikage-me07 bows and the curtain closes.)  
><strong>


	11. Chapter 12

**CHAPTER 12**

**MORNING GLORY**

"Tsuna, wake up! Wake up Tsuna! Tsuna! Dame- Tsuna!"

"Lambo, it's still so early. I don't want to go to school yet." But the bed continued to shake as Lambo leaped up and down. Then, a familiar high- pitched voice chimed in.

"Tsunahime-neesan, please wake up. We missed you."

_Huh, another dream. I won't open my eyes in case it is just one of Reborn's pranks. I might be listening to some recorded voices or something._

"Tsuna-nii- uh, Tsuna-neesan? Did you really become a girl? If so, Mama's dying to see you." Now it was Fuuta's voice.

_Fuuta? Really Reborn, these voices are so realistic but I still won't fall for this._

"Then, useless Tsuna, how do you explain _this_?"

BANG!

"Argh!" Tsunahime jolted awake and fell off the bed ungraciously.

"Ouch! Reborn, it's still so early. Why do you-" But the question never got to escape her lips because of the two small bodies that suddenly clung tightly to hers.

"Tsuna-nii!"

"Tsunahime-neesan!" Both exclaimed simultaneously with obvious delight that Tsunahime just sat there with wonder. Lambo edged away from their group as if they were carrying the most infectious and fatal disease ever known to mankind and cattle-kind. He told them,

"Sir Lambo would never do that. Sir Lambo is too great to do such things meant for commoners. Ha- ha- ha- ha!" and then Lambo laughed his oh-look-at-me-I'm-the-greatest laugh to hide the embarrassment and relief that he was dying to ignore. This was one of those times when he was supposed to look all cool and mighty; his mortal seemingly-immortal enemy, Reborn, was present. Anyone would surely, _surely_ notice this great presence of his. Or so he thought.

But his theoretical mortal immortal enemy was hugging Tsunahime with the others, like he wasn't even there to begin with.

_Sir_ Lambo choked.

"Gotta. Hold. It. In" Reborn and the others were now making their way towards the door, hand-in-hand.

"This. Is. No...thing. Gotta. Hold. It. In." I-pin was asking if she could ride in Tsunahime's arms.

"WAAAH!" A loud wail and the massive explosion that followed shook the Vongola mansion to it's foundations.


	12. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

**Battle and Defensive Positions at the Ready!**

The most violent ones- Gokudera, Hibari, Mukuro, Xanxus and Belphegor were at the site of destruction in an instant and were having heir fill of destroying some more.

"Hie! They're here! Run! Hide!" But she was mainly telling that to her self.

"Congratulations for surviving that Tsuna. You really are my student," said Reborn as he descended form the air using Leon- parachute.

"Shut up! That's not reassuring at all." But that's not the point, so let's focus on something else.

The "Violent Ones" would have beaten and probably killed poor Lambo if not for Kyuudaime, who happened to be just passing by. Currently, Reborn was whispering to Gokudera's ear that it was Lambo who once stole his locket and that it was not a problem if a thief like him disappeared from the face of the earth.

Blood drained from her face as she heard these encouragements and paled a little more when Reborn moved on to Mukuro to tell him that Lambo claimed Mukuro to be gay from the very first thought he had of stealing Tsuna's body. Kyuudaime was hushing Lambo and Tsuna did the same to I-pin and Fuuta who looked like they were petrified. Kyuudaime threw a sharp glance around. They flinched.

"What do you think you are doing? He is but a child!" he placed his smoldering glance at each and every one of them, yes, even Reborn, who said nothing.

It was Xanxus who first gathered his courage to break the silence.

"That trash nearly blew your next successor to bits." He said in a low, powerful and authoritative voice. His deadly intent and his petrifying gaze never left Lambo.

"That broccoli tried to kill Princess Omnivore." Claimed Hibari with a face masked with indifference. His tonfas were still raised, frightening Tsunahime that she did not quite register what the two speakers said and instead, cowered behind Reborn.

"Silence! I will not tolerate such childish behaviors. The shame you're putting yourselves into. He is part of the family." Timoteo scolded them venomously that they flinched again. And with all that anger on their shoulders, Timoteo left them to brood over themselves.

Lambo rode on Kyuudaime's arms, all boastfulness and even his soul had left his body. Now was supposed to be the time for him to act all cool after gaining an ally but lo, all he did was cower (like a cow). The shock from seeing the life he'd lived flash before his very eyes might have sapped all his sanity that he wet himself. Kyuudaime didn't mind at all though; his dignified retreating back seemed to be showering them all with more of his disappointment. Not a soul among them managed to speak up for a while. Until finally, the most soulless of them all managed to catch the "culprit" and blamed it all on her.

"Your fault." The green gun was pointed directly at her. Everypone tensed.

"What? Me? Why me? You were the one encouraging them to kill poor Lambo, not me!" She defended her one and only life hysterically. Now it was Tsunahime's turn to watch her life (miserable, as expected) rewind horribly inside the dark hole of a gun barrel.

"Ah…ha ha ha. That's enough kid. This isn't a game anymore. We should respect the lady." Yamamoto Takeshi, the ever smiling baseball star (Freak, according o Gokudera-sama.) laughed nervously. She blushed with the statement. Someone called her a lady! That was a start. She should be going ashen- faced by the second, with a gun aimed at her forehead, not blush! And besides, Reborn's reputation precedes him. He is one (or probably The One) of the strongest hitman in the world. Surely a single hole in the head would be nothing to him. Why deny him the fun?

Tsunahime at that time turned to face Reborn directly and took on a deadly pose without her knowing. She widened her eyes. She pouted a little, enough to show her pinkish, soft and smooth lower lip. A few threatening tears and a soft sob was all it took for all of them to drop their weapons and have an epistaxis. Watching the scenery unravel slowly was too much for them and after a few more milliseconds, Levi had fainted successfully. The others can't look down, for fear of missing the golden chance and stood gazing at her endlessly, as if petrified. Their breath caught with shock but hid it effectively, or not so effectively. They felt each other challengingly, for each of the competitors didn't dare make a move. They all sported a tick-mark on their temples- tick-marks indeed. All of them have _heart-shaped_ tick-marks seemingly plastered on their heads. Breathe in. Breathe out. It was Reborn who stopped the phenomenon.

"Hn," was all he said and without a word, jumped into Tsunahime's head to sit on her curls. She sighed in relief.

"Jy…Jyuudaime…" whispered Gokudera weakly, his knees wobbly.

Xanxus took an unnecessary heavy step towards the dining hall and soon, all of them were following wordlessly. All the boys (huh?) did their best to gather their scattered drool (Whaddya say? My guns loaded!)- um…just kidding! They did their best to gather their scattered composure and… composed themselves (Duh! Nya ha ha).

…**. ;^) ….**

Tsunahime closed her eyes and braced herself for the coming explosion. This was the very first time she had seen the ninth Vongola boss make such a scary face. She was disappointed with herself too and if she dwelled further on the thought, she would be on the floor in a moment, crying her uselessness. Vongola and Varia sat silently around the table. They were so quiet and unmoving that it was not hard to guess that they were not breathing anymore. The Varia obviously know what to anticipate, but the tenth Vongola generation, unfortunately, do not. So, they sat with their heads bowed as they brooded, each soul encapsulated inside their own disappointment space. The atmosphere was so intense, proof was the dark storm cloud above the dining table. She did not know what to do and kept breaking into slight trembles. Her palms perspired a lot and soon, beads of sweat trickled down her neck. She did as the others did- bow her head, keep silent, feel miserable and feel as guilty as ever (Though some didn't have the word "guilty" in their Vongola vocabulary, they managed to look nervous).

Kyuudaime was busy turning his smothering gaze aggravatingly slow on each and one of them. His gaze contained disappointment and bottled up anger and directed it all on them, well, until his gaze fell on Tsuna. At this time, he smiled weakly. She smiled too, uncertain of what to do but smiling back looked like the best answer. Kyuudaime then formed a crease on his forehead, glanced at Lambo, then on Tsuna, back again on Lambo and finally around the table. Then, unbelievably, he laughed and clapped his hands together with a loud slap. It was so unexpected that soon enough, weapons were unsheathed and battle positions were taken and Tsuna, oh dear Tsunahime,took the only defensive position and was under the safety of the table in a flash.

Lambo was yelling, "He he! Beware of Sir Lambo, the greatest hit man!" while struggling against his jelly- like legs.

Timoteo barked another laugh, which made them tense all the more.

"I have just thought of the perfect way to bring down judgement on all of you." He announced with the obvious twinkle on his eyes.

**..ooo00800ooo…**

**Bianchi was definitely all over her. They were currently in her room, with her wardrobe's door thrown open, its contents spilled all over the room.**

"**Uh, Bianchi-nee-chan, why do we have to bring so many?" Tsunahime asked in a muffled voice under the tumult of clothe after clothe that buried every inch of her. Bianchi stopped her scavenging to look at her skeptically. Tsunahime didn't need her hyper intuition to tell her that she shouldn't have asked.**

"**Because," she began flailing her arms, as if explaining to a preschool that one plus one is equal to two "you never know," and went back to her work. All the while muttering about the cute purple lingerie**.

Well, this is it. I hope you like this new chapter. Please review and please vote! Thanks to those who have reviewed so far.


	13. Chapter 14

CHAPTER 14

THE PUNISHMENT (? OR !)

Xanxus frowned. Hibari Kyoya looked like he was looking for an easy prey. All Bephegor did was look at her and then he went "ushishishi" with a manic grin. Gokudera was unsure about what he should feel at the moment and just decided to scowl. Yamamoto, like all times, was laughing casually. Ryohei was extremely being Ryohei. Lussuria said, "Eh? Then I'll bring lots of tanning lotion!" and shook his butt like there was going to fall off in any moment now. Mammon was counting his gold coins and weighing them on a scale. Mukuro's hand was itching to reach his trident...just a couple of meters. Levi was picking on his nosed with his pinkie almost gone into the hole. Bianchi was consulting the How to be a Grrrl Manual. Squalo's jaw suddenly weighed tons and dented the table. Lambo was doing what he was good at: drooling all over the place. Timoteo was smiling widely, not a care in the world, with a dreamy look on his aged face. Reborn was grinning widely- uh, maniacally. Tsunahime was thinking that in her past life, she must have been a terrorist, a paedophile, a terrible mother, a rapist or something, to desrve her fate.

"What's this all about old man?" Xanxus glowered at his father with intensity so hot it could boil water.

"You heard me," Timoteo laughed and smiled at Xnaxus as if the look on his face was angelic and continued, "You're going to have so much fun together that I feel rather envious."

"I'll make immediate preparations for your departure this morning, shall I?" and with that said, the Ninth took his leave with a merry tune escaping his lips.

Yamamoto whistled and told Xnaxus, "Wow, you're old man's face looked much younger. I didn't know he had a playful side."

"Shut up or I'll kill you." Yamamoto raised his arms and signalled peace. Then, Xanxus randomly, unintentionally, but most importantly, pure coincidentally peeked at Tsuna.

She was now smiling, because the kids were were jumping up and down with all the energy they had in excitement. They were in bliss with the prospect of having a holiday together, despite the fact that "together" meant: the Varia , the Tenth generation Vongola, Bianchi, and most importantly, Reborn The Tutor.

She had a feeling in her gut that told her she needed to look up front and front she looked. It gave her a start, because not only Xanxus in front of her, but all the Guardians, whether it be Varia or Vongola, were watching her every move. She caught sight of Hibari and became beet red when she suddenly remembered the "Princess Omnivore" moment. She cleared her throat and tried to speak as if her life depended on her speech.

"Um..." she chuckled and twiddled her fingers nervously. "We'll, let's pack our things as soon as we finish eating, okay?" she grinned, to the obvious delight of those around her.

"Yes, Jyuudaime!" You know who said that one.

**...ooo00800ooo...**

Bianchi was definitely all over her. They were currently in her room, with her wardrobe's door thrown open, its contents spilled all over the room.

"Uh, Bianchi-nee-chan, why do we have to bring so many?" Tsunahime asked in a muffled voice under the tumult of clothe after clothe that buried every inch of her. Bianchi stopped her scavenging to look at her skeptically. Tsunahime didn't need her hyper intuition to tell her that she shouldn't have asked.

"Because," she began flailing her arms, as if explaining to a preschool that one plus one is equal to two "you never know," and went back to her work, all the while muttering about the cute purple lingerie.

"You never know? Bianchi- nee san, we'll be gone for a few days; we're not going to live there! We'll be in an island, having a swim at the sea, not on a fashion show and besides, what about you? You're supposed to come and you haven't even started packing yet." But Bianchi ignored her, still in pursuit of the perfect coloured bikini to match Tsunahime's skin tone. Until, Bianchi shrieked in delight.

"Yes! Look at this Tsunahime!" She took a few back steps and turned to show Tsunahime her new find. It was a purple dress that Bianchii held under Tsunahime's nose. She studied the fabric intently and forgot her complains and totally agreed.

"This will look wonderfully on you! And the trimmings on the sleeves look cute with your curls! Bianchi sported an admiring look on her face.

"I wish I had a little sister. I could take her shopping, watching movies, playing dress- up and all that." Bianchi went on after seeing the look on Tsunahime's face. "Oh, it's not that I'm thankful of having Gokudera; but we're not exactly close enough to feel assured, rather, he doesn't want me close to him. I think he's been carrying a grudge on me for keeping the secret about her mother." Bianchi emanated a sad aura that infected Tsunahime without fail.

"Why don't I be your little sister, Bianchi- neesan?" she offered a warm smile and a place on her arms. She soon found herself on the floor and out of breath as Bianchi her with her might.

"Oh thank you! Thank you. I won't let you down, I swear on my love! I'll be the best big sister you'll ever have." Bianchi was already running out of breath in the middle of her thank you-s but still insisted on finishing her speech until she was red in the face. When she finished, Tsunahime took a long look at her and started laughing. They both had a good laugh. They rolled on the floor, clutching their aching stomachs, still laughing wildly. It took a seriously long moment for their laughing impulse to subside and both lay drenched in happiness. Tsunahime stood up first and offered her hand with a smile to the other, which she accepted shamelessly but gratefully. After a while, the two were found in Bianchi's room, just beginning to pack and with the biggest smiles on their pretty faces.

**...ooo00800ooo...**

Well? Well? What can you say about this people? I'm sorry that I made any mistakes in Chapter 13. I admit that I rushed making it.

Thank you those who were always reviewing my new chapters. To all of you, who read this lame fan fiction, thank you for the support. In return, I promise you more hilarious chapters to come (I promise you that.)

**Let's have a sneak peek on the next chapter:**

_**Wow, he's so cool.**_** Tsunahime couldn't help but think of him like that, until...he tripped. Yeah, he tripped, on Gokudera's foot. Apparently, the sunglasses that he wore were not tainted, but **_**painted**_** black. His sunglasses fell when he did and when he looked up, he saw Lussuria's butt waving madly ahead of him. He grew pale and threatened to puke.**


	14. Chapter 15

**CHAPTER 15**

**LEAVING ON A JETPLANE**

The warm sun seeped through her skin, brightening her day for a change. The wide expanse of blue reflected the sky above it invitingly. Playfully, the cold breeze swept past her and managed to lift the hem of the flowery dress that she was wearing. It was a good thing that Bianchi briefed her - Chapter 11 on How to be a Grrrl Manual: always be ready for breezy encounters. It was the reason she was prepared and currently wearing a silly (but she hates to admit that she liked it deep inside) sky blue one-piece swimsuit. She sighed.

Let's take a ride back in time, shall we?

Kyuudaime's decision was this:

"The Varia and the tenth generation Vongola should bond together. I will be retiring soon. The next generation must be ready to take my place in a moment's notice. You will be responsible for the future of the Vongola Family. And I'm not only talking about the pride and honour of the Family, but the lives of the people consisting it. It is a huge responsibility, so I'm hoping that you would help each other and face the difficulties of our family hand-in-hand." He smiled wisely at all of them and was bewildered with their dreamy looks.

They must be imagining themselves ten years from now, when they're all sitting at their rightful positions, he thought. He nodded his head in approval of his own ideas and smiled widely, now having a dreamy look in his eyes. He sighed contentedly.

"I will make immediate preparations for your departure this morning." He said and left, with a wild smile plastered on his lips.

The guys still had the dreamy looks on their faces, staring into nothingness. Kyuudaiime was right, they were imagining themselves ten years from now, when they were as successful as they could be. Thousands of subordinates to do their works for them as they sit leisurely in their office, infinite influence over the Mafia all around the world, mansions and their own organizations and...About the hand-in-hand thing...oh, yes. Yes, they were hand-in-hand, hand-in-hand with Tsunahime that is. They started giggling in pleasure.

"I agree," was all Reborn said, his look of mischief was hidden by his fedora.

"I- uh, I..." Tsunahime turned to reborn and to Kyuudaime's retreating back alarmingly. They can't possibly do that. They just can't possibly send her on a _relaxing_ trip with the _Varia_. _They just can't_.

But of course they can.

A few hours later, their bags were packed, provisions were already loaded inside the plane, the plane was at the rooftop and her ears were filled with curses from some of her companions. Her guardians, despite the curses pertaining to the Varia who were running late, seemed excited, except of course, Hibari. He stood beside her with his arms folded in front of him. The children were jumping up and down and kept asking her if they were all ready to go.

"I want to ride my plane now, Tsuna." Lambo demanded for the nth time.

"Lambo," she exasperatedly sighed. "Let's wait for the Varia for a little longer, okay? So please behave."

"Lambo-sama is always behaved, how dare you! You use-" Lambo was cut from his next outrageous statement by the look Hibird gave him. He's just like his master eh? Lambo cowered and kept quiet.

"Tsunahime-neesan, the Varia is here." I-pin announced with the high pitched voice of hers.

Tsunahime swivelled her head to look at the approaching group.

_They're all crazy_, she thought and she received an approving answer from Hibari when he growled deep in his throat.

Lussuria wore a teensy bitsy teeny weenie yellow polka dot bikini, which she wore for the first time today. Hey, like the song huh?

Squalo blanched all the time and kept his eyes reverted from the uh, disconcerting sight. He wore a tee-shirt with print that read "THE Undefeated Swordsman" and Khaki pants. Bel was sporting a sky-blue button-down shirt and brown short pants. His sleeves were folded up to his upper arms and he had sunglasses on, too and walked with his own air of royal dignity.

_Wow, he looks so cool_. Tsunahime couldn't help but think of him like that until, Bel tripped. Yeah, he tripped, on Gokudera's foot (You're so Jelly, Gokudera!...Gokudera: "Shut up!"). Apparently, the sunglasses that he wore were not tainted, but _painted_ black. His sunglasses fell when he did and when he looked up, he saw a deadly glimpse of Lussuria's crazy butt waving madly in front of him, like it would fall off in any minute. He nearly threw up but managed to get back on his feet to regain his sunglasses, his only protection. He put them back on and felt his way with his hands. Mammon followed him with the same kind of glasses covering his eyes, all the while bumping into things. They didn't mind bumping hurtfully into things at all, for them, damaging their eyes were the main issue here. And they were right.

"Hey, what's that? Don't tell me you're playing hide-and-seek? Let me join too!" Yamamoto was pointing at a figure darting here and there, not bothering if he was seen or not, but he seeming mindful if he was _seeing Lussuria_ or not. Tsunahime squinted. It was Levi.

"That looks like-"Levi was suddenly thrown into the air and straight inside the plane with a stream of orange flames trailing after him. And that people, was Xanxus' grand entrance.

He walked briskly towards them, not bothering to shield his eyes from Lussuria's persona. He wore a black button-down shirt, which he left wide open, showing off his um...Yum. Tsunahime gulped. This was not supposed to happen; she was a boy until a few weeks ago. She was not supposed to feel attracted to any of his guy-friends and even guy-enemies. She turned to her guardians. Gokudera, Yamamoto, Hibari, Mukuro (Huh? When did Mukuro-san arrive here in Italy? Tsunahime wondered. She shrugged to say, who knows?) were all wearing sleeveless button-downs and short pants. Gokudera's shirt was red, Yamamoto's shirt was blue, Mukuro's one was white and he wore it open until his chest and Hibari's was ash-colored and on his upper arm was the ever present badge of the Discipline Committee. Ryohei wore nothing for a top, shouting the whole time how extremely manly it was.

_At least my guardians are more decent_, she thought with satisfaction just to console herself. She sighed in relief. She looked down at her own get-up. A spaghetti-strapped white dress that went with a matching beautiful hat completed her look. The colour of her dress set off her brunette curls, which flowed wonderfully down her back. _Yum_, thought those with wandering eyes when they set their looks on her.

"Tsuna, I want to go now," whined Lambo. Fuuta and I-pin followed suit.

Someone behind them chuckled.

"You'll be going soon, don't worry." Kyuudaime said with a merry look on his aged face. Tsunahime turned to discover the Ninth wearing the only thing she hated to wear at the moment- a smile.

Tsunahime was astounded. She had never seen Kyuudaime this happy before. She wondered if he and Reborn had just had a wonderful talk. _By the way, where is he_? Timoteo answered a question from her head as if it was clearly printed on her forehead. He chuckled some more.

"Reborn will follow a few days after, so like I said, don't worry. Unfortunately, Bianchi said she wanted to go with Reborn, so she'll be staying as well. I'm sorry Lambo, I-pin and Fuuta but you will have to follow after your Tsunahime-neesan." His face fell when the trio started wailing loudly.

"My. My. What a mean old man am I." He gathered them all in his arms and rocked them back and forth to stifle their cries. He continued such routine until he caught the look on Tsunahime's face.

"What is it, Tsunahime? You didn't really think that I was that old, did you?" Tsunahime shook her head feverishly but still could not shake of the red tinge on her cheeks. She slowed down, and then nodded her head timidly.

"Well, it's okay. I love surprises anyway." He laughed and smiled down kindly at her. "But now my resolve to make you my successor has deepened. You're getting along with the Varia, I presume?"

"Uh... I'm not really sure about that." Then, she sent a searching look at the group quarrelling among themselves.

"Don't look like that when you're about to set off in a wonderful trip. I wish I could go with you but I've got paperwork to do. It will be fun. And Reborn will follow soon after so you'll enjoy your vacation a little more." He smiled approvingly.

I have serious doubts about that, thought Tsunahime acidly. And how can she have fun? The meaning of the word "Happy" was quite lost to her in this moment in time. She was unceremoniously thrown into a Vongola-Varia crocodile pit.

Wait- How dare she? Kyuudaime did his best to prepare a vacation he won't be able to attend. He was only thinking of what's best for the Family. She dwelled on the thought with all her might to keep herself from freaking out. Later on, she did freak out.

She felt someone staring at her back, sign was her slight shivers. She looked for the source unwillingly. She found Mukuro staring intently at her with his unmatched eyes. As usual, it scared her. She turned stock-still when he seemingly continued what he was doing to the next level. He stared at her dangerously (according to her) up and down, searching her. For a moment there, he looked extremely angry which made Tsuna's red alarms go off. He was emanating such a dark intent that everyone turned to look at him threateningly. But the moment they laid eyes on him, he was all ready laughing his weird laugh all to himself while looking away from Tsunahime.

"Jyuudaime, are you all right? Are you hurting anywhere? You're looking pale, Boss." Nobody can deny the concern they witnessed in Gokudera's voice, and soon, her other guardians were crowding against her (Yes, even Mukuro, who pretended like nothing happened. And no, not Hibari.) to inquire what was wrong and if she was all right.

"Hey, back off! I'm her right- hand man and her public speaker. So keep away!" Everybody ignored him.

"Do you need something, Tsunahime? Is your bag heavy? I'll carry it for you!" Yamamoto suggested happily that she couldn't bear to disappoint him. She handed her one- eighth of a kilogram bag to him with a smile and a merry thank you.

"You're always welcome! Anytime. Although, you could do well to pay it with a kiss here." He indicated his right cheek. She blushed and stammered to counter his suggestion.

"Extreme! Wasn't it you who told us to respect the lady, Yamamoto? Forgetfulness is an extreme sign of aging!" The group of friends started to laugh at Ryohei's statement. They had such a good time that they hurt their stomachs after laughing for so long. No one can deny the small smile that adorned Hibari's usually tight lips. In no time at all, her old self was dug out of the dumps and was raining down smiles on everyone.

"See Tsunahime? Your guardians love you so much. You should not feel worried about this trip at all. Anyway, I can rest easy now too..." the Ninth said. Gokudera puffed out his chest boisterously. Yamamoto blushed and waved off the compliment with a fit of silent giggles. Ryohei extremely thanked Timoteo and asked him for a Thank You match. Hbari and Mukuro challenged each other on who could protect Tsunahime more and who was fit to be by her side at all times.

"Well Tsunahime dear, I have to go now. I still have a bunch of paperwork to sign." And with that said, Kyuudaime bolted with a wide smile on his lips and the three children wailing their little hearts out.

Tsunahime was left with the group, smiling and laughing all her might, unknowing of the incoming battles to come- the battle between her cloud and mist guardian and the battle in the sky.

**...ooo00800ooo...**

**The plane quivered violently, making Tsunahime cower more under her seat. Heck, forget about seatbelts; having your seatbelt on would mean that you're an easy prey. That would certainly lower your chances of survival, especially now that the air was reeking with the nauseous stench of killing intent.**

**And was the reason why she abandoned her comfy seat and took cover under it instead. **_**I don't want to be dead meat**_**, said Tsunahime in a weak voice.**

**Thanks a lot for the reviews everyone and for those who continue to read this. I promised you a good chapter didn't I? So here it is! I hope you enjoy this as much as I enjoyed writing it.**


	15. Chapter 16

**CHAPTER 16**

**TRIP TO JERUSALEM **

She gravely dragged her feet to where the others were waiting and also where Mukuro and Hibari were battling. As for the reason why they were doing so...who knows? She figured that she had to say something. So she cleared her throat audibly.

"Um. Er. Well..." It was all she said. But nonetheless,

"Kufufufu. What is it Vongola?" He was by her side within a blink of his red eye.

"Hie! Oh, I- Please stop fighting and let's all board the plane together." She said quietly. And to her surprise but not ours, her guardians followed. The Varia, of course, maintained their ground. She thought that she was too scared of the staring Xanxus to even say a word to his group as she passed them by. Something else frightened her too: Lussuria. Oh well, who won't be? Anyway,

"Jyuudaime, please sit here." Gokudera proudly indicated a personalized seat, rather a Gokudera-personalized seat with a rich red colour, the only blood red among the normal gray ones.

"Uh, Gokudera-kun, where did you get that?" She asked, bewildered. Gokudera grinned.

"I had it made especially for you to make you comfortable as much as possible during our trip. And I'll seat right by your side so you need not worry Jyuudaime. I've got it all taken care of, as only right for your right-hand man!" Gokudera thumped his chest for emphasis. He was absolutely boisting and by doing so, he ignited somebody's extremely short fuse. Xanxus followed inside the plane with the look of utmost disgust on his face.

"That's trash."

"Pathetic. Kufufu."

"You are disrupting the order inside the plane."

"As a prince, I hate red." And the personalized-by-Gokudera-blood-red-seat-for-my-Jyuudaime was viciously slashed, burned, shot at, and flung out of the door within the speed of light.

Gokudera's face was now as red as the seat before the legendary seat he had laboriously, lovingly and meticulously prepared even reached the ground. He was so angry that any more pressure on his fists could draw blood from his own palms. Thoughts of vengeance raced through his head, each as savage as the next.

"You're all going to pay for that with your lives!" And then he dived towards them while he snarled menacingly.

"Gokudera-kun, stop. I'm sorry for what happened for the seat that you made for me. And I'm sad that I won't be able to try it out. But I'll be sadder if you met the same fate as it did. So please calm down. Don't mind them. We'll find other seats." Tsunahime whispered in his ear while holding him back with a small but pincer-like grip on his shoulder. He was still very red in the face, but for another reason- he just felt hot, like he was going to melt into lava (Lovah..!) in any minute. His eyes fell on his Jyuudaime's hands tightly wounded around his. Oh, heaven!

"Ye...yes, Jyuudaime" he weakly whispered; all his energy was sapped from him. He followed her towards the front seats in the plane in jelly-like legs. Tsunahime sat down on the seat beside the window, leaving the seat next to hers deliciously open for him. He quickly bended his knees. Then,

Thump.

"Geez, this plane is quite useless. The seat I made for Jyuudaime is way much comfortable. This seat is so hard!" Gokudera shifted uncomfortably.

"Get off me, trash" and Xanxus pushed him off of him unceremoniously.

"Wha- Hey! Get out of my seat! That's my seat. I'm her right-hand man." Tsunahime chose that time to face the commotion and turned ghostly white when she saw Xanxus sitting beside her.

"I'm the boss of the Varia. I deserve the best seat." Everyone else were watching the show unfold in dumb silence while they're heads also dumbly followed the direction of the speaker. Some did not apply that rule though, because they thought they were cool.

"Then get off! Every seat here is the same. Why can't you pick another?" The poor Gokudera shouted and pointed at the seat farthest back, where cobwebs were sure to hang around. Xanxus snuggled deeper into his "comfy" seat. The plane engines were beginning to move beneath them.

"This seat is the most comfortable. I don't have to answer to you. Get off my sight, scum or I'll remove you." A pair of gleaming magnificent guns was aimed on Gokudera's face.

"NO! Please don't do that Xanxus-san! He's my friend and I don't want him hurt!" Tsunahime was clasping Xanxus' arm dramatically. The Vongolan and Varia, for the first time and may be the last time, united to watch the Decimo, Tsunahime, beg the Varia boss, the ruthless Xanxus. They waited in baited breath (in Levi's case, more like convulsions) for the Varia boss to stir an emotion, any hint of emotion al all.

They all relaxed when Xanxus scowled. That was a good sign, it was usual.

"You say my name as if we're close." He said evilly (again, in Tsuna's point of view) while lowering his guns.

"Hie! I'm sorry! Then...um...Varia, please-"

"The former is fine. Shut up now."

Silence, then...

Whisper, whisper, whisper and more whispers.

What? Xanxus-san? He let him call her that? Wow, this is going to my "Omens before the End of the World" compilation. This is hilarious. He actually let her-

"Scatter!" boomed xanxus with such power and authority that some of them winced. They began to grudgingly take their seats when Mukuro said:

"I want to seat beside Vongola, kufufufu."

"You can't she has detention on Friday. I'll bite you to death."

"Kufufu. Of course I can, with someone as powerful as me, I can do anything."

"I won't let you possess Jyuudaime! Why are you even here in the first place?"

"Pay up, Bel. Xanxus got there first."

"Tsunahime is so cute! The boys are fighting for you. Choose only one, you bad, bad girl. Cuuute!"

"Boss! Why did you let someone like her call you on a first name basis? You've been my boss for years! Why? Whhhhyyyyy!

"What? Extreme! How can you betray your boss by possessing her?"

"Kufufufu. She's not my boss. She's my future wife."

"I'll bite you to death."

"Ha-ha-ha. Can you let me join the game? Can I pretend to be the priest?

"Voi! You can't, you stupid sword brat. You smile weirdly to become a priest. You'll scare all the nuns."

"Ha-ha-ha. You talk weird, Squalo. Wait, Tsuna's so pretty, I'll be the groom instead! Whaddya say? Ha-ha-ha."

"Ushishishi. Can I sit beside my princess/? The last time we sat together was when she sat on my lap."

Lap...lap...lap...lap... The word echoed inside the plane against the sudden eerie stillness as the other living things digested what Bel had just said. But then without a warning, steel against steel clashed, bombs exploded, things were halved, fists smacked and someone screamed,

"SOMEONE DO SOMETHING!"

**...ooo008000ooo...**

**Please forgive me for the long wait, everyone! Here it is, fresh from the ink-oven and now ready for serving! I pray that you enjoy this one. If you ever set your mind on a particular partner for Tsunahime, please feel free to vote for them! Don't let your favourite leading mafia man lose this kind of battle!**

**Here's a sneak peek on the next chapter:**

**The plane quivered violently, making Tsunahime cower more under her seat. Heck, forget about seatbelts; having your seatbelt on would mean that you're an easy prey. That would certainly lower your chances of survival, especially now that the air was reeking with the nauseous stench of killing intent.**

**And was the reason why she abandoned her comfy seat and took cover under it instead. **_**I don't want to be dead meat**_**, said Tsunahime in a weak voice.**


	16. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17**

**Free Falling**

"HELP!" a window just broke, letting in a strong gust of wind that made her shiver to the very core of her frail bones and cling more tightly to the seats that were her only anchorage to dear earthly life.

"Someone, anyone, help!" But help was unlikely to come, ever. Belphegor was busy dodging multiple attacks at the same time. It was lucky for him that some attacks cancelled each other out. It was because his attackers obviously had no teamwork. They were maddened (as if they weren't all ready mad to begin with) by the intent to kill him that they became oblivious to their surroundings. Bel can hold out for now, but not for long.

"This is bad. They're going to kill Bel-kun." And with every cell in her body protesting, she made her way towards the control room to ask for the pilots' help. She struggled towards the door and exerted more effort to open the latch. The strong wind blew everything here and there. The luggage racks were open, spilling out their contents. Tsunahime did some dodging herself before managing to unhitch the uncooperative latch. She finally burst into the room, crying hysterically.

"Please, sir. My friends are-" she did a double take at the sight before her "Wha- where?" There was no one inside the room. The steering wheel lay idle, swinging from left to right and back again. The only signs that someone inhabited the place were the spilled coffee and the open and empty rack labeled "Parachutes". Tsunahime began wringing out her hands in panic.

"What shall I do? What should we do? We're going to die!" she declared. She pulled at her hair, placing her stress unto her physical, vulnerable self. At that moment, the plane shook violently, followed by an explosion and a wild puff of black smoke. One of the turbines had just exploded. If anything could set her off more, it was clearly that.

"Everyone, please stop! We're going to crash!" she announced suddenly and hysterically, making the others freeze right on the spot.

"The pilots are gone! There's no one controlling the plane! I just saw an explosion a moment ago, I think that was the turbine. We're going to die!" None of her words registered into their minds, however, only the sight of her. Her curls lay tousled in a tangled mess of various things- blood, cotton from the seats and some other things. In her face were vivid red marks, where she clawed at her face in frustration. Her dress looked like they went half way through an incinerator. And on her skin were light bruises and scorch marks. But what caught their attention the most was the fresh river in her cheeks that ended in small droplets of small, clear salty liquid, which continually wet the floor.

They lowered their weaponries and Tsunahime would later swear that she heard someone issuing orders that the others undoubtedly followed. She did not know who though, nor did she care to know. All she cared about was her comfy seat, where she exhaustedly plopped on. To whoever carried her there, _thank you. Please don't talk to me anymore_. She just sat there and stared into space, stationary. She didn't want to move. She couldn't.

_I'm so tired. I'll just let the guys do it_. Her eyes began to droop as a strong sense of sleepiness began to engulf her. She began seeing things in a blur of colors. The others were running to and fro, yelling at each other. They grabbed their luggage, which flew and scattered about. They gathered their provisions and salvaged what they can because they knew that the plane would not hold for any longer.

Before she knew it, she was in dreamland. It was a nice dream. She dreamed of soaring round and round the fluffy clouds and of getting wet when she passed through one. A hearty laugh rumbled in her throat when she saw that she had sprouted wings in her back. She soared freely among the white clouds, the birds and played hide-and-seek with the sun.

"Jyuudaime!" Someone took hold of her hand tightly that it hurt.

_Gokudera-kun? Where are you?_ She turned her head to all sides to look for the source of the call. But there was no one there.

"Pathetic omnivore princess, this is no time to take a nap." _You're one to talk Hibari-san. Where are you guys?_

She flew and flew and came upon a dark lump of unhappy-looking clouds. Thunder rumbled in the distance. When lightning stroked, it blinded her momentarily. A strong breeze swept her away but she managed to flap her wings just in time to avoid herself from going far off. Then suddenly, rain started to fall, drenching her whole body. Still, she continued to flap her wings laboriously, trying to look for a safe place to land. A sudden flash of the blinding light caught her momentarily in surprise, making here close her eyes in fright. When she opened them up again, she couldn't help but utter a wild cry for her wings were on fire.

"No! Argh!" Slap.

"OUCH! Reborn!"

"The tutor is not here. Look around you, useless Tsuna." She had a strange feeling about this. It was the same as in her dream. They were flying. She opened her eyes slowly. They _were_ flying _without_ wings. No, let me rephrase that. They were falling.

"Argh! Where's the plane? Why are we here?" She received a sound explosion as an answer. She gulped.

She wriggled like a worm in the air and found her body trapped between boulders. Gokudera and Xanxus flanked her sides, like knights. They were knights wanting to crush her in between.

Above their trio were the others. Yamamoto was shouting how extraordinary their trip was. Ryohei was exclaiming how perfect it was up there for visual training. Lussuria utterly agreed and asked for their rematch right then and there. Bel and Mammon followed, going more slowly, due to the black frog- shaped umbrella they have successfully conjured from somewhere.

For a moment up high, Ryohei managed to graze Lussuria's side with an extreme punch, causing the strap of his yellow-polka-dotted brassiere to go snap. Mammon and Bel closed their eyes automatically. Waaaaayyyyy...behind them all was Levi,who suddenly exclaimed, "Who turned off the lights?" An innocent yellow-polka-dotted fabric covered his eyes. Don't ask me from where _that_ came from. I've no idea. Nuh-uh.

Below Tsunahime, Xanxus and Gokudera were Hibari and Mukuro. Tsunahime sighed in relief when she saw that they were not onto each other's necks…for once. She was amazed though.

Mukuro had his head propped by his elbow on imaginary solid ground while laughing his weird laugh all these times.

Hibari Kyouya wonderfully flew, literally flew gracefully. No wonder he was called the sky lark. His limbs were arrayed in such a manner that made you wonder if Superman really did fly using his own technique. Well, whatever. I would rather die than see the prefect wearing his underwear outside his slacks. I'd die. DIE, as in: expire, depart this life, give up the ghost, breathe my last breath, go to meet my maker, you know what I mean. The cloud guardian was freely flying in his own territory. No, he was freely falling. And amazingly, so was she. She closed her eyes.

"What a pathetic Vongola heir you are. How will you know when and where to land if you close you close your eyes?" Xanxus growled (Whispered actually, but this is Tsunahime's point of view) in her ear.

"But I'm… It's too high, frighteningly high." She whimpered involuntarily. She hadn't always been afraid of heights, as long as it wasn't one of those uncountable times when she was hanging by her (then his) foot upside down a dozens of feet above the ground- courtesy of the school bullies, street bullies and the Lord of all Lord of Bullies, Reborn. But still, with her eyes closed, she tightened her grip on Gokudera and Xanxus subconsciously and Gokuera yelled, "We're nearing land!"

"Oh no, this is it."

"Don't worry Jyuudaime, I'll catch you!" Xanxus gritted his teeth audibly.

"You run away from reality when you close your eyes. A sky guardian afraid of heights? You're the most pathetic Vongola I've ever laid my eyes on (not to mention 'hands on').

Tsunahime did not need Reborn to explain to her what Xanxus meant. She knew it full well.

She realized it herself and honestly, she did not know what to do with it herself. Okay, she wasn't being really honest, she was scared, and that's all. And she definitely doesn't want to da anything about it. Nuh-uh. No way on earth is that happening.

But the thing is, Xanxus definitely wanted to do something about it. With one sure swipe and a yank, he pulled her away from her storm guardian, brought out his guns, and blasted them away from the majority of the group.

"Jyuudaime! What are you doing you thief! Give her back!" Gokudera vainly stretched out his hands into thin air. And he just kept doing it; it made Tsunahime's heart throb too much.

Xanxus let another fire to propel the two of them upwards. Tsunahime was left with nothing but Xanxus's tight body as her only remaining anchor to dear life.

"Hie! What are you doing? Gokudera-kun!" she let out a scream that would fill a cloud and burst it.

"Quit the racket, stupid girl. You're hurting my ears! And part of my body is more important than the whole of you." He growled (whispered, tsk) into her ears. Tsunahime said nothing and heard another bang and felt a strong surge of wonderful wind and light shower of cool water droplets that it almost made her smile. But she kept herself at bay.

"Argh! We're supposed to land! Why are we going up?"

"We're not going down until you open your eyes."

"I can't! I don't want to!"

"Then we'll stay here."

BANG! And up, up and away they went, like an inflated balloon that was suddenly losing its air.

"Argh! Let me go, you jerk!" Xanxus felt Tsunahime push him roughly at his side. It hurt. Don't ask which part of him hurts _now_.

"As you wish, My Queen."

…**ooo00800ooo…**

**I am very sorry for the long wait everyone. I swear that I didn't mean to be this delayed in my update. It's just that I kinda know what the word "Busy" feels like. So I hope you'll pardon me.**

**Please let me know if you like the flow of the story so far. It would be much helpful to me.**

**Thank you so much and enjoy!**


	17. Chapter 18

**You guys are awesome! Thanks for reading my story and I can't express how glad I am that you like it. Thanks for the heartwarming reviews, everyone…to thank you, I would: bungee jump, roll in the deep, love the way you lie, bite you to death, bomb you to smithereens….hahaha, don't mind me. I'm simply being in a happy state. I can finally upload this up. Exams are over! Success!**

**Look out for more of the Vongola-Varia vacation. And guess what? We'll have a new character coming! I wouldn't want to spoil the fun so I won't tell ;^)**

**Enjoy this one!**

**CHAPTER 18**

**FREE FALLING**

**PART TWO: "ALONE" VERSION**

"Huh? ARGH!"

_What? Why did he let go?_-was what I thought as I screamed my internal organs out. I must be looking like a freaking harper from the deepest part of hell. Even as I thought that, I could feel my eyes widening and widening until my eyelids nearly ripped off.

_Just as Gokudera-kun thought, he was planning to eliminate me after all. Oh, how stupid can I get? I trusted him! I trusted him more than he deserved. And I liked him!_

_What? What am I saying? Did I just put me, him and Like in one sentence? I'm dying! I'm dying because of a brain disease!_

_I should've listened to Gokudera-kun! I just can't believe this trip. I'm supposed to have fun with my friends in a paradise-like island. I'm not supposed to be just falling from the sky._

_Goodbye Gokudera-kun, you are a great right-hand man than you take yourself for. Goodbye Yamamoto-kun, for the smiles you infect me with. Goodbye Ryohei nii-san; I have always dreamed to see you as my best man when Kyoko and I got married. Goodbye Mukuro-san, uh…yeah, goodbye. Goodbye Chrome-chan, you were always so cute and kind. Goodbye, mother and father. Goodbye I-pin, Lambo and Fuuta. Goodbye Haru. Goodbye Kyoko-chan; I can't ask you out on our first date now, can I? Goodbye Reborn, I can't fathom why I feel happy saying that. Must be the relief I get when I die. I can finally rest. Goodbye everyone._

_So this is what it feels like to fall. It feels great. I don't want it to end and I don't want to reach the ground. But the problem is- the ground is nearing. So this is how it feels like to die, not so great. I'll die as a girl, all right. I feel more terrible to think of that. I didn't even get a chance to fall in love._

_Is this the end of Tsunahime Sawada? Well, who cares? I'm so useless after all. Now Xanxus can succeed the position as the Tenth Vongola boss. Let him. I don't care anymore._ I relaxed my tensed body and let myself savor the feeling of my last moments on earth. Funny, I should be back to my previous self when I was shrieking my lungs out but I can't bring myself to. I'm just plain tired. I want to stay like this forever. If this is what it feels like to die, please let me.

"Tsu-kun?"

_Mama? Is that you mama? Where are you?_

"Would you like another bowl of ricek, dear?"

_Wha- mama, I'm dying… I can't eat anymore._

"Stupid Tsuna…bow down to me before you go to school. Hahaha!"

_Lambo? What are you talking about? I'm going to die, not going to school._

"Tsuna-nii, don't forget your lunchbox, okay?"

_I-pin? I don't need lunch anymore, I'm dying._

"Jyuudaime! Good morning! I'm here to pick you up. Let's go to school together!"

_What are you guys talking about? I don't understand. Is this my life flashing through my very eyes?_

"Yo Tsuna! Let's go to school together! Hahaha! It's a nice day for a picnic!"

_How can I go to a picnic in my dying state?_

"Useless Tsuna, we're going to train after school. Or better yet, during class."

_What? How could you say that, Reborn? I'm dying and you still want to kill me more?_

"Don't complain, stupid. I'm not the one who's weak."

_Well I'm sorry for being pathetic and weak!_

"You are pathetic, stupid and useless. I thought you said you wanted to protect your family and friends?"

_Wha- of course I want to! I want to!_ The chilling wind continued to pass through me as I fell. But something else was hitting me besides the wind; it was paining my whole being so badly that I almost cried out. I clutched my chest where my heart beats the strongest. My heartbeats got louder and louder by the moment. I couldn't breathe.

"You escape no run away from reality when you close your eyes. You…don't…exist." That was what Xanxus meant.

"Stupid Tsuna, you should always be able to protect your family."

"You see Tsuna, your family loves you."

_That's it! I don't want to be scared anymore! I've depended too much on my friends. It's my turn to stand up for them!_

Without any second thoughts, I opened my eyes to the world, grabbed my gloves in my pocket, chugged down a pill and saw everything in a new perspective.

The looming distance between the sky and the ground came automatically to me. Fifty meters. It was more than enough space and time to execute a decent landing. I readied myself and enlarged my flames, creating a rocket of my person. I began to spin my body with ease to immerse myself in flames; I continue to accelerate towards the ground. A few more meters…I flipped my body and landed a somersault with my flames to cushion any unnecessary bump. And then, before I knew it, I was safely on the ground, staring up at Xanxus squarely in the face. I don't know what he saw in my expression, but he was surely pleased with the new resolve emanating from me. He smiled and nodded approvingly.

…**ooo00800ooo…**


	18. Chapter 19

**CHAPTER 19**

**PLAN B**

"That's the last of them," said Gokudera as he dropped their salvaged supplies on the sand with a grunt. He sighed and wiped his sweaty forehead with the back of his hand. Exhausted, he swept a look among the others.

So far, Ryohei and Squalo were the only ones making sense of their jeopardized trip- they extremely swam through the extremely blue water that assured them their doom. Right now, all they could do was gather what was left from the plane explosion and then make some kind of strategy on how to somehow survive this. They were supposed to have a vacation, not to be stranded on some random island. Escape was a long shot at the moon. Tsunahime said so herself. He drooled as he remembered their conversation earlier…

"Jyuudaime, what should we do? Shall we contact Reborn?" he started to ask as he edged closer to the shade on coconut trees where Tsunahime rested. Every step made his heart go boom! Boom! Boom!

She simply smiled tiredly but also reassuringly as her eyes met his and replied, "I don't really know if we can rely on him right now Gokudera-kun." She made a sour face. "This is what he wanted to happen, after all. I can tell. All we have to do now is to salvage what we can and plan a strategy for ourselves." Even as she said it, she was surprised at herself. Reborn's lessons were finally kicking in. Wow.

She got up and strode over to where Bel and Mammon were doing some strenuous and unfit for royalty work (according to them). They were making a list of their remaining belongings to keep track of things. Smart move.

Meanwhile, Gokudera just stood there, gaping at his experience so sweet, that he went on daydreaming…

He and Jyuudaime, looking for a shade under the trees where they can both rest peacefully and talk about their promising future …He offering to put lotion on her skin. He turned deep burgundy as thoughts kept turning and churning inside his lovey-dovey head. How nice it would be…

Clank.

"Damn it!" an innocent coconut rolled idly at his feet. He looked up, eyes flashing threateningly at the criminal.

"Who did that? I'll kill you!"

"Oops. My bad. I wanted to play soccer, you see. ha ha ha.." there was a thud and Yamamoto landed his feet on the ground. He hid it before Gokudera could see it- the dark gleam of jealousy in his eyes.

"Don't make excuses just before you die!" and a game of tag started, which definitely made the game freak Yamamoto happy.

"Ha ha ha. That's the spirit! Gokudera-kun's the "It". Everyone! Come on!" the air instantly shifted to dumb playfulness. Bel, Mammon, Levi, Lussuria and Ryohei joined the thong with hoops and jeers. Gokudera was not happy, which I might add, is an understatement.

"You will all die!" he declared; put his hands in his pockets and drew out several bombs.

There was a collective sigh revealed by the non-participants of the game. They continued on to what they were doing despite the sound and the visible smoke that erupted on the other side.

Tsunahime took up the job of listing things when Hibari silently (but moodily) handed the objects to her, which she handed to Mukuro in turn for him to place them in piles of differentiation. Don't ask me how they got there. They just did.

"Okay, so we have some canned foods, preserved goods, snacks, bottled drinks and even some spices from the plane's kitchen. I do get the feeling that this is all laid out by Reborn." She made a disgusted look and sighed.

"I think everyone has their own luggage so that's fine too." She placed a neat check mark beside the word "personal luggage" and nodded solemnly. They also got some cooking materials that were simply gifts from the heavens. They were good to go and will not starve for a few weeks.

"We will need rope," Hibari spoke for the first time "for the tents." He added.

"And we have to make a fire in case a ship goes by. It's a signal that someone's here. Kufufu." Said Mukuro. Tsunahime brightened up.

"Oh yes! You're brilliant, guys. Let's go look for ropes and then dry branches for the fire." She strode off with a determined look and posture. The two followed her with their try-hard-nonchalant look on their smug faces. They went on their search until there was a seemingly planned innocent interruption.

Thud. She hit the ground face down. And she hit her face _hard_.

"What's the meaning of this?" growled Xanxus as he removed the shirt he was using to cover his eyes. He lay there comfortably under the shade of a great tree.

"Kufufu. I should be the one asking you that, bastard. Why did you do that to my future wife?" a trident materialized in Mukuro's hands within a blink of his red eye.

Hibari didn't bother talking, he just became…Hibari. He slashed viciously at Xanxus but Xanxus lazily brought out his great gun and deflected all attacks with his flames. He yawned, as if bored.

"Where to princess?" he turned to Tsunahime.

She swallowed audibly before answering, "we-we're out t-to gather wood for the f-fire."

"Why don't I just set this whole forest on fire? It will save us the trouble." And he aimed his other gun towards the forest.

"No! Where will we get food if you do that?" she threw her hands on his arm to restrain him. "And there might be animals in there," she added in a weak whisper.

Xanxus looked at her for a whole minute before lowering his gun, and as he did so, her hand fell away with it. He winced. "Fine, suit yourself." He stood up to look for another place to take a nap.

Where were Hibari and Mukuro while this went on? They were _ignored_. Seething with rage, they both glared at Xanxus' retreating back. A small voice brought them back to their composed selves. They went on.

After an hour, a huge fire crackled at the hearth as it showered warmth to the people gathered around it. They were currently discussing their plans.

It was time for the survival plan.

"We should call Reborn first." One suggested to the extreme.

"He won't help us." Tsunahime said with a sigh of acceptance…of their doom.

"And how will you do it, anyway? Do you have a phone?" For once, Levi showed a degree of Homo Sapiens' knowledge.

"I forgot that to the extreme!"

"In case anyone sails near here, they might see the fire and help us. So let's have it burning every hour of the night and day. I'm awesome. Kufufu."

"Why don't you try to be of some help and create an illusion of a ship and let's go," said Hayato feverishly.

"I just might do that and have you thinking on having left the island but in truth, you were tied to a tree in the heart of the burning forest. Kufufu."

"Ha ha ha. Very amusing. Go roast your pineapple marshmallows, pineapple-head."

"Why don't I slit your throat, bastard?"and with amazing speed the both of them were unto each other's necks. _Two down_, Xanxus thought.

The others ignored the encounter by saying, _that aside_.

"Voi! I'll swim this sea as if it were nothing!"

"Yeah, 'coz you're a codfish. Ha ha ha. Wa ha ha ha."

"Shut up, you grinning freak!" Yamamoto happily ran as his wish of a game of tag came into existence.

_Four down_.

"I say, we can survive for a week with our supplies but it won't last long after that. We have to hunt." Tsunahime told them timidly, very much aware of the rapt attention that everyone else regarded her with. She drew back into a curling position and wished she hadn't spoken.

"Yeah, we can hunt."

"Ushishishi. That is a royal game peasant. You can carry my bags instead."

"You talk as if you're in your palace, Bel. Pay up will you, because you piss me off." Piped in Mammon.

"That aside. Ushishishi. A prince needs a horse. Conjure one and I'll pay triple." His bangs hid the evil gleam in his eyes.

"Tsk. Too much effort. I'll just have Levi change into brown robes and we're done." Mammon dismissed the problem with an evil grin to rival Bel's.

"What the heck? Traitors! How dare you treat me like that? Boss, tell the-" Xanxus spared him a: direct flame hit in the face without a glance at him. Ouch.

Bel continued to talk to Mammom while the latter went on jingling his pockets. Levi the defeated and ever unwanted dragged them to a shadowed corner and sulked. He was hoping they would at least share his misery. They didn't. More misery.

_Seven nuisances down._

The remaning "decent" Strategists continued brainstorming.

"We should just swim through this to the extreme!" the fire blazed suddenly, as if agreeing with Ryohei's proposal.

"Oh no! There'll be sharks! I might be too addictive for them when they taste me!" Lussuria wiggled his seat, disgustingly. He was undeniably enjoying the "taste" part of the topic.

"Hie! Man-eaters? Argh! No! I'll die!" Tsunahime buried her face in her hands to emphasize her supposed horror.

Lussuria and Ryohei were by her side in an instant, soothing her to the extreme. But I don't know, maybe they got too close to her? Because someone said (promised),

"I'll bite you to death." A war broke out.

_Ten pests down. Complete._

Only Xanxus and Tsunahime remained by the fire by now. Sooo comfortable. Or not.

"Hmph. What next? I'm still thinking of burning that forest." He was looking away from her. The reason why he brought out the whole burning-the-forest alpha plan was to have her restrain him with her touch again. Addictive was the word for her. To his disappointment, she did nothing of the sort.

"But we still need to hunt, don't we?" her forehead wrinkled at the question.

"Hmph. Whatever."

They sat oppositely with the fire between them. He still refused to gaze at her. And for a moment there, Tsunahime took the opportunity to study his profile. He has a roughly chiseled face that clearly defined his position. His cheekbones, his jaw, his straight nose- manly was the only word for it. He has eyes that can burn anyone they set on. His skin, the scars… it made her wonder. Unconsciously. Aloud.

"Do your scars still hurt, Xanxus- san?" she clapped her hands onto her mouth with a loud and painful slap but it was too late. His head snapped back to look at her direction.

"That's none of your business." His gaze burned her to the core. It felt to her like he took command of the fire between them and had it choking her by the will of his eyes. She flinched and looked away.

It was too bad though. She did not catch the gentler look that Xanxus drew out when he realized that he scared her. He made himself relax and he smiled the in slightest. But of course she did not see that. She was still looking at the ground as if it was the most interesting thing on Earth. What a shame.

"Sometimes. But it's mostly the memories of the time I got them that make them hurt."Tsunahime, surprised he would answer, swiveled her head in a snap to look at him. She forgot her fear and stared at him straight in the eyes. Now it was _his_ turn to be choked by the fire.

She nodded weakly, understanding and yearning for more of the conversation. He went on.

"And there are those stupid nightmares that make me wake up sweaty. I can feel every inch of my body being burned like for the second time. That's when…Nevermind." He glanced away, embarrassed- a phenomenon that happens only once during the Tsunahime eclipse.

_I don't have to share anything with anyone. Especially with her._

She just smiled at him kindly.

Surprise. Surprise.

"Maybe you'll find what can cure those pains someday. My Mama always said that for every pain, there's a cure. You'll find it Xanxus-san. I'll even help you find it if you want." She told him, still beaming at the fire (at him actually, but this is Xanxus' point of view). She nodded solemnly, still keeping the smile.

"Yeah, maybe." If there is one out there somewhere, he mused while regarding her secretly.

…**ooo00800ooo…**

**Okay! This is it! The long- awaited chapter- freshly served by this lazy writer at your service! As always, I'm sorry for the long wait it took you. Thank you to those who review it and read my story! I owe you.**

**Please review to let me know whether you like it or not.**

**Enjoy Plan B!**


	19. Chapter 20

CHAPTER 20

AIN'T I JUST HOT?

Hot. Stifling hot. Lethally hot. HOT!

It was the one thing that forced them to abandon the fun at the beach and to seek the sweet refuge that the tree shades offer instead.

The guys were gathered below a great tree by the edge of the forest. But there was one not joining the team. The skylark, of course. He was above, up in the tree branches, sleeping his boredom away from the others.

Yes, of course. They were all bored…and patient (one of those special moments). They sat waiting, praying hard. For what?

Tsunahime still had her coat on for she refused to be eaten by these ravenous vultures. No way in hell would she strip in front of them; even under this weather. It was embarrassing. Just plain z-barassing. Gokudera and Yamamoto stayed faithful and stayed by her side, acting up as her true guardians. They were always vigilant for any kind of trouble. It was the kind of trouble that the male counterpart of Eve reserved. Sigh. Boys.

But it was just too much! The heat was killing her! She'd be parched to the bones if this situation took any minute longer. She sat in agony thanks to the sun- the same sun she used to love in every hour of daylight. Only now did she experience to despise it. It was so hot- perspiring what looked like the content of the whole ocean itself- she was tempted to…

She poised her hands over her coat buttons. Many of the boys nodded in approval. Too enthusiastically, I might add. Gokudera glared him death glare and Yamamoto turned serious and shifted his bat to his sword hand. Tempted too, they were, but come on! It was their Boss they were playing with. They placed their hands on top of Tsunahime to slow her down. In unison, they shook their heads. Tsunahime gulped hard and nodded in the slightest. She dropped her hands to her side, still tempted. The other boys sighed, tsked and let their heads fall to their chest defeatedly.

Until one of them just couldn't take it anymore.

"Argh! I can't take it anymore! Tsunahime, Take it off already!"

For once, Bel didn't have the words "prince" and "Ushishishi" (if that is a word) in his sentence. But the guys were too mad to notice the change.

"Hie! NO! I don't want to!" she clutched at her garments hysterically. She was doomed, or so she kept saying since the first time she met Reborn. Was it rape time? Eww.

Amazing as they were, Tsunahime's eyes rounded into large brown and teary orbs when her guardians suddenly came to life and surrounded her protectively from the hoard of berserk hormones.

"You'll have to get through s if you dare touch Juudaime." Gokudera snarled his challenge through grinding teeth.

"Kufufu. This is my future wife. She's mine and mine only." A dark miasma engulfed Mukuro's presence, giving off his intent to kill in a larger scale than usual.

"An Omnivore Princess can only fit a Carnivore. I'll bite you to death." It was the longest sentence Hibari has uttered in Tsunahime's presence so far, but he was still the coolest thing on Earth.

"In case you want a piece of this," Yamamoto flashed his sword threateningly.

"Exterem! This is my little sister! An extreme brother I am!" Ryohei pounded on his chest audibly.

"Voi! You dare speak to the Varia like that? Die, all of you. Die!"

"Ushishishi. If it's a dare you want, it's a death you get. And the death is yours."

"You've no chance against the strongest assassination squad in the Mafia world. Prepare! Wa ha ha ha." Levi still found time to boast about his team.

"I guess I have no choice then. You'll have to pay me, though."

Xnaxus stood up to the height fit for a king. Except that he was currently a king in swimming trunks. Tsunahime was reserved. For him. Only. Him.

Lussuria said: "Ooh! It's a race then! A death race! It'll be fun!" They forgot to divert their eyes from her swishing butt due to the tension that filled the air.

"Let's do it like this- first team to reach that mountain top and take the flag, wins! The conditions are: one, no flames shall be used for transport and two, you have to eliminate any possible obstacles you meet on the course in whatever way you can- namely, the other team!"

Tsunahime gulped at the 'eliminate' and 'whatever way' aspects of the race but said nothing. She was doomed… doomed… doomed. Right then she can almost hear Reborn's prophecy of her impending death.

Goukudera spoke up for Vongola- "Fine then. If we win, nobody from the Varia will touch or talk to Tsunahime. And two of your men will be our slave for a week." Vongola nodded in agreement of such terms. The Varia, after some thought, also did the same.

For the Varia's prize, it was a much simpler one.

"And if we win, which I'm sure will happen- your Sky Guardian, Sawada Tsunahime, becomes our slave for the whole extension of this trip." Xanxus and his men grinned demonically that would shame the devil himself.

"HIE! _Why is it always me_!"

…**ooo00800ooo…**

**Ciaossu!**

**Here's another new chapter! I figured to update as much as I can since I haven't bothered to for at least- a month or two? Well, I am sorry and I'm trying to make it up to you.**

**Please review! Thank you very much! Chow!**


	20. Chapter 21

**CHAPTER 21**

**DEATH RACE**

A line made up of brightly cackling red flame marked the starting place.

Tsunahime was coerced to hold the gun for signaling the beginning of the race. She cowered in fear and was shaking as she tightly clutched the gun in pure fear.

Why does it always have to end in situations where she was utterly compromised? She knew that Gokudera meant no harm, but what the-? Varia? As slaves? For a week? After their release, they will surely be out for blood. Why didn't he extend it to a lifetime guarantee instead? Her shoulders sagged in exasperation. She accepted her fate to die young ever since she met Reborn. Period. But not _this_ young. And the Varia's prize… shivering but not cold, she hugged herself as a sign that it might be her last chance to hug herself. ..PERIOD. She can't even stay with the Varia in a dining hall without wreaking havoc and not to mention the less than one hour plane ride. How can she possibly survive for a _week_? It was not that she does not trust her guardians; but she can evidently see that the Varia was more focused and determined to win this than the ring battles. Why are they like that anyway? She doesn't get it.

Why wouldn't they be? What she doesn't get is that their inspiration for this battle was far greater than in the ring battles. A Vongola princess was on the line. No ring can possibly match that. They will win. It was too much of an opportunity to waste. She was the opportunity.

On the Vongola's side it was purely for the sake of brother and sister love- well, at least for Ryohei. Gokudera, Yamamoto, Mukuro and Hibari were crouched in a corner (yes, even Hibari) for some strategy planning. They will not lose. They will best the Varia once again. Their everything- Tsunahime, ego and pride are on the line. It was FIGHT or DIE.

The participants were all doing heir own kind of exercise- stretching their limbs, flexing their muscles, warming up. Levi was even doing Yoga. Xanxus took the moment and displayed his tan and hard body, flexing every muscle as he moves from side to side. The others took their own shirts off immediately. No way were they letting him steal the limelight.

Beside Tsunahime was Lussuria who was decided (a win by default- meaning they had no choice) to be the commentator. He was fully enjoying the moment and has even taken out a hideous one-piece bikini with a Venus flytrap as a brooch. Like always, all eyes were safely averted from the sight. I refuse to indulge any information regarding this- this… let's just leave it at that, okay?

Up in the top of the mountain was the great tree that was their finish line. All participants can vividly see the blood red flag that danced with the wind. It was placed there by one member from each tem. For the Vongola: Gokudera Hayato and for the Varia: Belphegor. It was done so that both teams will have a guide and can be positively sure that no traps were laid out prematurely on the way.

When the both of them have arrived later yesterday's afternoon to lay out the flags, they were both grinning (Uh scratch that, Bel's always grinning). And the scratches and darkening bruises on their faces and arms were proof that the death race has all ready began.

No path was vivid enough for them to follow since the island seemed to be not inhabited y any human being besides them. This serves as a fair handicap for each and every one of them. No flames were allowed for any type of travel but for fights only. The latter was the part that Tsunahime always "Hied" at- _the bloody battles_. Deep in her thoughts she as thankful all she had to do was shoot a gun at the sky.

"Everyone gather now!" Lussuria's butt waved madly. All eyes turned to the fa-a-a-ar better view: Tsunahime. "Come on! We better start! I'm so excited, aren't you, Tsunahime?"

"Uh…" _How can you be excited? How could you? I'm about to be minced meat if the Varia wins._ Images of death kept flitting into her mind. She willed herself to find her voice and do0 her best to help her friends help her.

"Do your best, Gokudera-kun, Yamamoto-kun, Mukuro-kun, Ryohei-niisan and Hibari-san. I believe in all of you." She was all ready crying before her last words escape her mouth. _Please help me!_ She pleaded mentally. The people addressed stared at her in silent fascination. They were so dumbstruck that all they can offer was their reassuring nods and warm smiles.

"Okay then! Let's begin! Tsuna-chan, you can proceed."

"Hie! What do I do with this?" Holding Xanxus' gun gingerly betwixt her candle- like fingers, she searched their faces with the most helpless look. _Heck, that's undeniably cute._ Thought everyone while sporting their own heart- shaped tick marks.

They rolled their eyes and in a chorus said, "Well? Pull the trigger!"

Baffled and ever nervous, she gulped repeatedly and raised a trembling hand towards the blue sky.

"Juudaime! Count from one to three then pull the trigger." Advised Gokudera expertly.

Gulp. "O-okay." Gulp. Gee girl; are your tonsils still intact after all that swallowing?

"Here goes." The participants bent their knees and stretched their arms out in front of them. "One, er…bang!" Despite the untimely beginning, the Varia took off immediately with the curiously devilish grin on their devil faces while the Vongola remained stock-still where they were, gaping at the new horror in the sky.

A glittering shape of a pineapple caught their attention and successfully held it there, allowing the Varia their planned and tricky head start. The picture kindled a pure and pronounced rage that drew out a rumbling growl from Mukuro's throat. The devil ( Varia) work morphed into an octopus perched on top of Gokudera's head. He meant to laugh at first, but now it was all bloodlust. Yamamoto and Ryohei started doubling back in laughter, clutching hard at their aching stomach. Next was a skylark hitting a flagpole and being trapped in a Namimori flag with sakura flower print. Hibari swore loudly. And then the fireworks changed yet again into a pink and flower- printed baseball bat that hit a kangaroo in boxing gloves squarely in the face, and then exploded into a dizzying display of bright stars forming the letters- KO. All laughter has ceased entirely now. Death can be smelled n the air. Suddenly, Bel's face came up showing them a raspberry blow that obviously blew their mafia element "killing intent" full blast.

Tsunahime stood transfixed and horrified, getting paler as each image changed to the next, at the display in the sky. She used Xanxus' gun. No wonder all of this came up. But it was no use standing there. She became fully aware, as if for the first time that her life was on the line.

"Go! They had minutes of a head start all ready!" She cried hysterically. The Vongola team's consciousness snapped jolting into reality. Cheaters. Rage. Death promises.

"Vongola! To war!" and with that cry they dashed after their prey like mad wolves, which probably they were.

Tsunahime still stood gazing at the sky, hearing their thundering footsteps vanish into the distance. The fireworks changed color and shape, displaying Lussuria's backside making a show of his exhibitionist butt.

"Aw, I really love those kids. They think of their mother very much."

**...ooo00800ooo...**

**As I am very stubborn, again: I'm sorry for the long wait!**

**To those who have given their reviews so far, thank you!**

**Er...I guess that's all...ha ha ha.**

**Please review! Enjoy!**


	21. Chapter 22

**CHAPTER 22**

**FIGHT OR DIE**

**Mikage-me07:**

**Okay! I hope that you're satisfied enough with this chapter that you might review my story. **

**Please continue to vote. Thank you!**

**Enjoy reading!**

**This **place definitely defined the word isolated. It was a new version of a Jurassic park...or maybe it _was _the dreaded engineered-to-be-cuddly-but-took-off-on-its-own Dinosaur Park. You never can tell who's going to turn their backs on you, the ungrateful scaly hides.

But hey! That's not the issue here! What did you get off track for? What? What? Whatever. What I'm _trying_ to say is that the death race participants are doing great- brambles, thorns and pineapple marshmallows and all that. They simply won't back down. I do admire their spirits, but for the meantime, I would be sorry to tell you that if _I _were them, I'd be searching my way back to the starting line.

Remember Tarzan and his jungle friends? Yes, of course you do. Who would forget that a hunk like him was part gorilla? And _who _on earth would believe that the renowned Vongola was slowly turning into prototype Tarzans? They'd be like, what? One-fourth gorilla? Certainly gross! But because I'm only a humble pen servant of yours, I'd better not complain and get n with it.

…**ooo00800ooo…**

Brambles and thorns were the new Vongola fashion nowadays. It clung to their clothes and skins and stayed there, clinging with all their might, if the thorns and brambles _had_ any might. Those that caught on their clothes brought heaven to earth by tearing the fabrics in unjustly places and exclusively displayed the majestic creatures the Vongola were for me and moi (okay, I get it, you get your fair share too).

The air was humid and very musty, causing their chests to heave extra harder than they had intended to. Saving their breath and energy was one of their unspoken laws of survival. Trees of varied kinds towered well above their heads, blocking the sight of the sun, plunging them into near darkness. Soon enough, their breaths were overly ragged that their chests and sides felt like tearing. Their clothes were nearly reduced into rags, but to them it was nothing but royal fashions on their bodies.

Aside from their unevenly bruised, scratched and itching body, their leg muscles also began to ache. And it did not help that their shoes and sandals were so submerged into mud a while before that it began to harden and add an extra inch to their heels, making it harder to lift their feet at all.

And if any of you would be pleased to hear this from me, be glad that it was not the Vongola only who was suffering here, the same goes for the Varia too.

The Varia may have had a humungous headstart thanks to Mammon's cunning brain but they used it all up when they fell down into a deep trench. They could have avoided such a shameful fate if they were free to use their flames, but it did not help that a herd of wild boars were hell-bent on winning a jungle-style death race with them. They were so occupied trying not to get eaten by wild animals that they missed out the sudden drop of a trench in front, which was also slightly hidden from view by a thick lump of wild bush.

And so they fell, and bickered against each other ever since. But time was limited- the clock was ticking. They began to laboriously struggle against the stubborn cliff face that offered no handhold of any sort. The cliff face that they were facing at the moment was curved inwardly, making it impossible to climb. They huffed and puffed and swore at the rock face but the rock remained solid and cold against them. Squalo even tried to knock down the wall of rock - which means here that he challenged it with probably a traditional Varia- styled technique- but ended up having to nurse his big throbbing toe. They couldn't possibly remain here for any longer than they were at the minute. They had to get out. And fast.

So they put their heads together- not the physical bumping of heads type but the thinking together type. They sat their bottoms on the dirty ground and clacked their mind gears furiously. Until…they heard voices coming from somewhere above them.

"Oy, octopus-head, are we lost? What kind of guide are you? Kufufufu, useless git." Said a faint voice far above them.

"You talk as if you're of any help, you pineapple-head!" shouted back a louder voice.

"Shut up! You sound shrill as a hen. Kufufufu. Maybe I should call you something chicken in nature instead." An argument immediately broke out, then in turned into a fight involving bombs, a trident, and a stray rock that unfortunately fell on Levi's head, which raised a huge and pulsing red mound. Bel had clamped his hand over Levi's mouth beforehand to avoid him from alerting their opponents above. Why did Bel cover Levi's mouth when he could have pushed him away from the falling rock? Bel's extra devilish grin was the obvious answer.

The Varia strained their hearing, craning their necks to do so just to get a good account of what was happening above. But Bel had clamped his hand too hard on Levi's face, causing the other man to adopt Leon's skill in color- changing. He turned red, then green, then blue, and finally when his hue couldn't get any blacker, Mammon noticed him and indicated Bel to let go. Bel did but it was one mistake. Levi took in a huge gulp of air, trying to fill up his lungs to the brim. And by doing so, he made a sound of some big balloon being inflated. Bel grabbed him again and held him in a death clamp, not caring if Levi truly died this time. Too late.

"What's that? Did you hear that?" Gokudera spoke in a hushed voice while staring ashen faced in all directions. He even forced his neck to do a near three hundred and sixty degrees turn.

"Kufufufu, scared, aren't you? Your hair couldn't stand much straighter."

Gokudera opened his mouth to protest, but was silenced simultaneously by Hibari and Yamamoto. All five of them stood transfixed on their spot, too anxious to let a breath escape from their lungs.

"Do you think it's some wandering spirit? Oh no, I did not bring any charms."

"Silence! I'll bite you to death." But Gokudera was already getting worked up on chanting prayers and making strange hand gestures which he prayed would work to ward off evil.

"Extreme! Really now, octopus- head, it's just the wind!" Ryohei banged on his chest with a loud thud, letting off a massive wave of his breath.

"That's just gross. The wind does not smell of raw onions, Ryohei-san." Yamamoto covered his nose in disgust.

"Extreme! Won't you agree that it's for training…"

And the group above continued to pray, give off warm smelling raw onion breath, and exchange death threats while Mammon's mind continued to whirl on endless possibilities of getting them out of the pit that they were in. _Finally_. He grinned.

"Okay, if you want to get out of here, here's what you'll have to do."

…**ooo00800ooo…**

"Spirits shouldn't be disturbed! They should be left alone as they are, let's get out of here before it's too late!" exclaimed the storm guardian, who was obviously shaking.

"Silence! I'll bite you to death," was the comeback.

A strong wind blew so suddenly that their hit man nerves went full boom at the feel of cold air powerfully pressing against their bodies. They were startled but still managed to draw out their own weapons and formed a tight circle, their backs towards each others'. If the others drew out a weapon or two, Gokudera drew out _dozens_.

Mammon silently laughed as he carefully inched his mist of green smoke towards the defensive group who vainly searched for the enemy.

Second, Mammon silently signaled at Bel to release his threads that held heavy fake leaves and threw them upward, towards their circle of competitors. Someone above him cursed, much to his delight. Then, at the accurate timing, Mammon released a forceful gust of sound- making wind directly over Gokudera's right ear.

It was too much for Gokudera to bear, so he screamed for all his worth and threw his bombs disorderly. The Vongola saw it coming and ducked for cover. Bel saw a bomb falling slowly downwards towards them and used a thread to catch it and gently distance it safely away from his group and towards the rock face, just as Mammon had told him to.

Luckily, it worked. There was a loud explosion and the rock face crumbled in an earth quaking manner until it was like an avalanche of stones. But his group was standing safely away from the cliff, and as the cloud of dust cleared, he could see that the cliff had crumbled to a neat slope, safe enough to allow them their freedom by using its slope to climb upwards with little effort. Without further ado, the Varia climbed.

…**ooo00800ooo…**


	22. Chapter 23

**Yo! Sorry for the long wait everyone. But as promised, here it is! Mikage-me07 hopes you like this new chapter. **

**Please keep giving me insights on this and keep voting! Xanxus and Hibari are on an oxygen- supply- depleting standstill!**

…**ooo00800ooo…**

**CHAPTER 23**

**VENGEANCE IS SUCH SWEET MALLOW**

Gokudera screamed for all his worth, meaning: like a mother hen (exactly as Mukuro mentioned). In his panic, he threw every bomb in his hands' disposal in every direction. His companions only had a few seconds to take cover and defend themselves from the incoming slaughter.

Explosions started all around them almost instantaneously. Their ears became deafened with the loud bangs they made. The choking smoke coated them that it made them cough and their eyes smarted. But even through his teary eyes (and the heavy haze of blackish smoke did not help one bit, but the opposite) Hibari saw the vegetable-incarnate-herbivores make a dash after setting them into one of their herbivore-ish trap. _They'll be bitten to death…up to the last visible crumb_. He snarled feral after the Varia's smug backs.

He got up to pursue them but he became frozen to his tracks when trees started to come crashing down towards them with loud and earth-shaking thuds.

"Damn it! There they go to the extreme!"

"Hah! This is nothing!" and without further ado, Yamamoto's sword cleared a cleanly cut path through the enormous mass of trees in front of him. The others followed suit- Vongola style.

Hibari slashed viciously through the trees while imagining each trunk to be the Varia's heads. He continued doing so and after a while, it started to be fun.

Ryohei extremely punched boulders and trees that barred their way, showering them with splinters as he made his way to vengeance.

Mukuro twirled his trident above his head, forming a mini- tornado above him, which he released by throwing them to the fires that got in their way, extinguishing them.

Gokudera was still weaving signs to ward off evil.

To their rage, the Varia not only used them as their escape, trapped them and robbed them off their time, they also left traps behind them to slow and annoy them further. And here Ryohei k.o.-ed anything more that hindered them. Lussuria, for example. Mammon placed an illusion of Lussuria with extra shaking bottoms and extra wiggling pinky. All others moved away a considerable distance, leaving Ryohei to solely deal with the horrendous trap. He was the only one immune to it. There was no denying it. Go, Vongola!

They ran and ran and cursed and cursed until they reached a small clearing. As Yamamoto took a step forward on the grass, knives instantly trained themselves towards them. Mukuro stepped forward to parry the blows with one casual flick of his trident. He urged them to move forward with an impatient and annoyed nod. They did, and with vengeance.

…**ooo00800ooo…**

They moved on with more alert paces. They treated each step like profound danger until a quarter after the clearing.

"Halt!" Hibari knelt down beside Gokudera and carefully pushed aside blades of grass an inch waay from Gokudera's left foot. A red blinking light met them, winking away as if welcoming them to just step on them freely.

"What the hell? Do they even have time to set up traps like these things?" he asked incredulously as the thought of dying prematurely sank in his mind like a dagger. He should have been able to smell the explosives in the mines in the first place but he realized that he was so shaken up from the incident a while ago. He felt exposed, weak, and vulnerable. _Never again_, he said to himself, raising himself into what was a regal pose.

"Kufufu. Did they really think that they can best me this way? Kufufu, pathetic."

Click. Click. Click. More clicks. The mines detonated themselves. Their blinking red light shut down, as if disappointed.

"Kufufu. Piece of cake. What do they- What?"

They looked back at him only to see him being swallowed already knee-deep into the ground.

"Quicksand! Lift him up quick!" Gokudera and Yamamoto each grab hold of both Mukuro's underarms and pulled, teeth grating and all. But the sand clung to his legs like a lover (as one of my friends would put it). Hibari refused to help his archenemy and instead folded his arms in front of him while smirking, enjoying the sight before him. The Mukuro-helpers yanked once again, harder than they dared this time, and Mukuro's legs came loose with a sucking sound and a splat. The three of them collapsed to the ground, panting. Hibari was okay with the thought of moving on with their journey, but what the heck? Entertainment that enjoyable was hard to come by.

"Extreme! I've no time for this! Tsunahime is waiting!" he Extereme!-ed and ran with all his might through the clearing. He was so fast that the traps he had stepped on were activated long after he passed over them. Barbed wires, stakes, knives and bombs assailed after him but the sun guardian was faster still. Traps all faltered from the extreme boxer. He reached the other side of the clearing in mere seconds with a triumphant "extreme". Whew.

Gokudera and Yamamoto jumped hooting happily into the air. Mukuro and Hibari simply smiled, albeit hiding them, and stepped forward.

A few meters into the jungle they met additional traps- nets and a horde of illusionary wild animals. Anything you can think of, poisonous gases, shredders planted beneath their feet, you name it. There was even a picture of Tsunahime that was nailed to a tree that was creatively rigged to a trap that when touched, will explode right away. This time, Gokudera smelled the sulfur a few meters away. But deep inside, he really, really wanted that picture.

With sailing traps beneath and above them for almost an hour, they soon relaxed and grew accustomed to it. They casually swiped them away; annoyance was evident on their furrowed brows. They can even predict where the next trap lies. They may have cooled down a bit as they trudged forward, but in their minds, they could not push away anymore the single thought that kept nagging at the back of their minds. _There isn't much time_.

They easily tracked the Varia's path by simply following the traces of crushed undergrowth, crushed twigs and upturned stones on the way. The Varia must have been very confident with their abilities to stop them. Fat chance.

Vengeance, Tsunahime, Vengeance, Varia's heads on a silver platter. Tsunahime. They went on an endless mantra to motivate themselves forward. They never tarried never stopped to rest and to catch a breath. And soon afterwards, they were an abstract painting depicting sweaty, grimy, bruised and tired Vongola guardians. The Vongola hands were bleeding. The Vongola throats were dry. The Vongola clothes clung to the Vongola backs like that with glue. But most of all, The Vongola princess was waiting. Their eyes lit up with the thought.

Tired in body as he was, the self-proclaimed right-hand man of Vongola's brain whirled furiously. A plan. He needed a plan. Maybe if he did this and he got Mukuro to cooperate and do the honors of starting a fire. Yamamoto would do anything fun. And Ryohei was too much of a thick- head to contemplate on it. If he persuades the cloud guardian to release the exact amount of flames he calculated in his mind, but anyway…_all of them would surely do it_, he thought. They were all in the same boat after all. The plan kept turning and churning inside his mind. He kept going over every detail, not wanting it to go to waste. Finally, he added the string theory into the plan's account and nodded to himself fervently. He turned to the others.

…**ooo00800oo…**

Meanwhile, the Varia was clearly no exception to the hardships to be faced inside the jungle. The Varia foreheads were also sweaty. The Varia feet were also shuffling in fatigue. The Varia sides were working up a stitch. But like the Vongola, they never dared to slow down one bit. No matter. Nothing else matters. We will win this time.

Mammon and Bel brought up the rear, as the task of setting traps was assigned to them. Squalo cut through the jungle up front with a voi! While Levi kneeled sacrilegiously in front of Xanxus to carry his boss on his back since the journey was unfit-for-the-Varia-boss kind of thing. Xanxus vehemently refused- bullet-induced pain on Levi's side. They stomped through the wild environment, feeling their feet ascending a slope and slowly, they gained altitude.

Xanxus spoke for the first time in hours since their departure. The thought he keeps stashing away in the corner of his mind just keeps surfacing. He planned to remain silent for the time being. But patience was never his strong suit.

"Halt. Have you heard any sign of life since we entered? Listen." The others stood still and performed his direct orders. What they found out was unnerving. There was…nothing. Thinking back, they haven't heard anything from the beginning, just their own noises. Not a chirp of birds. Not a flutter of wings. No scurrying of small feet. A hoot? None. All they could hear were their own ragged breathing, their lungs struggling to inhale enough air to sustain their physiologic needs. They stood stock still. As if fearing that any movement will break the crystalline silence.

Something was clearly off the hook.

"What now, boss?" inquired Levi in a tiny voice. His forehead wrinkled, forming deep trenches in escalation.

Xanxus had a ready answer.

"Abandon the setting of traps and the clearing of a path. I want you to spread out as soon as possible and scan the area within a hundred meter radius. Search for any kind of animal or human being. Lightning, to the east. Storm, to the west. Rain, to the south. I'll take care of the north. Mist guardian, spread out a meter deep surveillance fog on the ground and also see to the skies. Now."

The Varia flew into action at once. Bel threw four knives to mark east, west, south and north before disappearing into dense undergrowth.

Crags and gigantic rocks studded the area. But despite that, some trees and plants still grew. They were still a quarter up the mountains, after all.

Behind and below the rocks, upturning them- nothing. In the hollow base of trees, where frogs were usually observed to be inhabiting, bushes, mounds of earth, up in the trees- no other sign of hot- blooded beings besides themselves.

The absence of any animal and the silence that entails this absence hung on their shoulders, adding lead weights on their minds. It brought an unnatural feeling in their gut and brought a chill up their spine. It was enough to make them break into goose bumps when they saw each other later when they met up at rendezvous point and confirmed the same suspicions and fears reflected on each other's faces.

Silent as they willed their selves to be, still the light footfall was enhanced to echo throughout the entire area. They stood like that for a short while, very much stationary.

Something was freaking wrong with this trip.

"What now, boss?" Levi went on sudden shivers

"Voi! Shut up! You're too loud!"

"Maybe I should remove both of you."

"Ushishi. I'll pay you if you do that."

And the bickering went on and on- ranging from death threats by the burning at the stake up to the slitting of one's teddy bear's throat.

"Don't you dare touch Mister Snuffles!" Levi summoned his flames, which he put out with his own tears and sticky yellow snot as it flowed freely down his front, like a stream.

"I swear, it you so much as lay a hand on him, I…"

The others laughed hysterically at him, not seeing the look on Xanxus' face.

Xanxus kept silent, weighing his choices. To speak or not to speak?

Neither.

BANG!

They stopped laughing their heads off and turned to look up at him only to end up flinching. Xanxus was sending a clear message: another sound and you meet up with Terra.

Orders received. Upholded. Sir, yes sir!

"We don't have time for such foolishness," he began with a suspicious dead calm in his voice. " I do not permit another defeat. We will win or you will all die trying. Whoever-" Xanxus' talk came to a sudden stop when everything just…vanished. No, that was not the case, darkness has surrounded them. He could still feel the others have alarmed breaths. Nobody moved.

"Voi! What the heck is going on here? First silence and now darkness? To a sharks, there is nothing more terrible that losing your senses!"

Bel and Mammon agreed and nodded their heads, forgetting that no one could witness them doing it.

"Ah…but there is."

"What's there? Who's there?" They groped through the darkness.

"The thing that's worse than losing your senses, you pathetic thing, is falling."

"Exploding to a million pieces!"

"Getting sliced up, like sushi!"

"Knock out! Extreme!"

"You'll be bitten to death. That's far worse."

Before any words were spoken from the Varia, an enormous earthquake claimed their balance. Cracks on the earth opened and trees fell all around them. They had to think fast and think fast, Xanxus did. But before he could utter a single word of warning, a blackhole opened beneath their feet and swallowed them…like a lover.

…**ooo00800ooo…**


	23. Chapter 24

**CHAPTER 24**

**RAISE YOUR GLASS AND CHEERS!**

**Yeah! I finally did it! The draft's been sitting idly on my table for some time now and I'm afraid I got very busy with my studies that I forgot about it. For that I'm sorry.**

**But here it is! I hope you like it! I look forward to your reviews!**

…**ooo00800ooo…**

While all sorts of horrendous events happened to the participants, the spectators have been very busy chewing their nails to stubs.

"Tsunahime-chan, you mustn't do that! You're endangering your next manicurist if she found out you didn't leave anything for her to work on (How to be a Girl Manual, Chapter 25: A lady must have the perfect nails.)" Lussuria chided Tsuna.

"But…I just can't help it. My friends are hurt and I don't even have the power to help them." Tsuna stopped when she realized her nails were at their limit. She sighed heavily.

"Oh, you sweet princess, don't you worry. Wrinkles are appearing on your forehead, see?" Lussuria joked before she continued, " and besides, you should be happy!"

_He's a retard_. That was what came into Tsuna's mind at the moment. _How can he possibly say that I should be happy here? I don't even know if my friends will survive after this. And it's my entire fault. I should die!_

"Tsunahime, don't! What are you doing?" Lussuria grabbed ahold of Tsuna's hands to prevent her from choking herself to literal death.

"Can't you see? I should die! My friends are getting blown up over there because of me! And I let them marh all the way there for my sake! I'm so horrible! I shuld die! Gokudera-kun! Hibari-san! Ryohei-niisan! Mukuro-san! Come back!"

"Oh you stupid sweet princess, you don't get it do you? That's why I told you that you should be happy! They're fighting the Varia because of you, that's true. But they're doing it because they love you. They want to save you. If they lose now, they'll suffer terribly for your loss to be the Varia's slave."

Tsuna stopped her suicide mission upon processing Lusssuria's words. It felt…warm.

"You really think so?

"Of course! As a mother of five, I easily perceive that they care for you very much. Although I'd rather they lost now and die there (Tsuna shrunk). I mean, to have you as a daughter would simply be heaven! (Tsuna wished she was the one being blown to bits.) I'll make you wear designer clothes. I'll arrange a weekly beauty spa just for my daughter and me ( Tsuna began choking.) and then I'll…

…**ooo00800ooo…**

Tsunahime screamed with Gokudera, laughed in relief with Yamamoto, extremely shouted encouragements like Ryohei, became fired up with pride of her guardians to rival Mukuro's pride of his hair and became consumed with a lust to win like Hibari.

It seemed like every step they took, she also felt their aching muscles and heaving breaths. Every trap they met, she faced them too. She felt their sufferings, and multiplied by ten due to her exaggerated imagination, she clearly was the one who suffered the most.

True enough, her body became soaked with perspiration and her breath became thin and rapid. She clutched her chest with sweaty hands. Glancing at Lussuria, she strongly felt envious.

Lussuria did not even break a sweat, after all his shrieking, pinly-pointing, butt-jutting and all the Lussuria stuff. He must have been practicing this routine a lot, thought Tsuna pensively. But the sight was more stomach-churning than ever. She figured that she never, she meant _never_, be used to it. She sighed.

You might be wondering how they were able to monitor their friends' movements despite the fact that they were miles away from each other and that the jungle was shrouded by darkness. Here's the answer:

The Vongola Extra- Realistic Imagination Flames You!

And yes, it had the stupidest name that anything could ever have. What the heck? _You_? Wasn't there anything feasibly better than that?

Setting aside Tsuna's complains, the VERIFY was indeed something. The device will only work if the person to be spied at left his essence with the device (Both teams cringed at the "essence" thing. "No way am I going to touch anything with Varia toenails in it!" Complained Gokudera). That essence was, strictly speaking, his or her flames. Before the race, the racers injected their flames in the small glass orbs attached to the screens and marveled at it with wonder when they saw their own faces looking back at them from the gigantic screens projecting from the orbs. The images were perfect; they copied every move of the original. It was admittedly hard to do it but, they did praise Gianini for his invention. They blanched at the name though. They preferred to call it VERIFY and nothing else.

Tsuna found the orbs while scavenging and thought them cute. It later proved to be something ingenious and helpful. She thanked Gianini silently.

The spying screens that appeared above the orbs showed the racers' every movement. She had been excited and amazed at first, but when the images began to blur and strange screeching noises began to emanate from the device, she knowingly inched away from them. You never know when Gianini's inventions turn their back on you in the last moment.

But still she really was thankful for having it. She would have blown up with worry not knowing what went on in there or she would have followed them inside to be with her friends.

Calmness was never her strong suit. She . would. Die.

"Tsunahime-chan," ssaid Lussuria, "would you like to freshen up"? Tsuna started at the tray that held two glasses of red-tinged liquid. Smelling their sweet scent, she reached for one gratefully.

Lusssuria giggled. "Oh dear, just relax and enjoy the game! Isn't it fun? They're dying to have you!" he went on giggling and wiggling.

Tsuna just stood with her mouth dangling open. Fun? Dying? For her? Not a good combination when constructing the typical Tsunahime sentences. Did he honestly thing that dying was fun? Oh sure, Rebron gunned her everyday but by the end of the day her stomach still ached from laughter. She loved sharing jokes with her friends, even if it meant she still had to get home and face Reborn's deadly tutoring. Uh huh. No problem. She could relate to that fun. Not.

She swallowed hard at Lussuria's expectant face and looked down at her glass of red-tinged liquid. She gulped hard. What if it had poison on it? Or blades? Lussuria made it after all; he might have made it for _fun_.

She took a reluctant sip and made a face that she deeply wished to be hiding her nervousness. Her face showed a please-don't-make-me-do-that-again expression that Lussuria took as an expression with flowers blooming in the background.

"Kyaaa! You're so cute when you smile, Tsunahime!I'm glad you loved it!"

Far from it.

"Deliscious isn't it?" Tsunahime nodded vigorously for the sake of sating Lussuria. Was it deeliscious? She did not even process its taste through her nervousness.

"Good! Now finish it up!"

This was it. The End. She was gonna die by the end of the hour. Her hands shaking uncontrollably and with her eyes filling up like a dam, she raised her glass to her lips. She again smelled the sweet aroma wafting from the drink. She thought it to be the sweet smell of death. She gulped audibly.

She felt the mouth of the glass spread coldness on her lips. She raised it higher to tilt the fluid down her throat.

CRASH! The ground shook and threw her off balance.


	24. Chapter 25

**CHAPTER 25**

**THE FINALISTS**

_How many carats? How many carats was her smile? Ah…if only I can see her once more, I'm sure that the very sight of her can make me endure all of hell._

_ Maybe she's waiting for me on top huh? Wow. That would be the best! _

This was the only thing that could possibly cross the minds of our tired and bloody (but still extremely hot!) heroes as they made their way up the increasing slope.

They were within sight of the summit now that they can almost smell Tsunahime's perfume. They could almost smell the Varia's blood as it flowed endlessly and sweetly down the river.

_Her smile…it is almost considered sinful to have such a smile that can melt even the densest of all steels. That kind of smile should be illegal, seeing that too much of such a wonderful thing is deadly! I see her hair, dancing gracefully with the wind. I woe to touch its silken strands. And her skin, smoothest of all creation and cream-like, so tempting to touch. If only…oh, if only I can (clash! Bam! Boom!). If only…_THUNK!

"I'll send you all to hell, you dimwit bastards!"

Our very own self- proclaimed right hand man Gokudera Hayato awoke from his momentary stupor after having someone hit a bazooka directly in his face. Or rather, after having someone land their butt on top of his face.

"Oh. Ha ha ha. Sorry, man. This road is just too slippery." Yamamoto again excused himself politely and stood up, only to be pushed again by Hibari. Which, of course, caused Yamamoto to replant his butt on the already pissed off storm guardian.

"What the f-!" Gokudera pushed Yamamoto away with all his might. He stood up quickly and saw Mukuro stifling a laugh by almost inserting his whole fist into his mouth.

On his right was Ryohei laughing openly, plus his index finger pointing at Gokudera and clutching his stomach with the other. Hibari was approximately 3 meters away from him. And Gokudera took the moment to glare daggers at the skylark's smug back.

"What are you laughing at? And you, you cloud guardian! What the heck do you think you're doing? Did you mean to do that, you stupid-sakura-scaredy-lark!"

Stupid.

Sakura.

Scaredy.

Lark.

Stupid-sakura-scaredy-lark! The echoes went on and on. And on and on.

On and on. I wish it went on and on, forever instead.

The group stood, quiet, waiting on who will make the next move.

(Okay, I gotta admit. Gokudera-kun, that was way beyond the line.)

The next moment came within a flash and it was enough to give me nightmares.

Hibari launched himself unto Gokudera, sending the latter flying and hitting a tree. He fell with a loud thud and a decisive splat when he hit the ground. Giving him no time to counterattack, Hibari drew out his nightsticks and began pounding mercilessly at Gokudera's motionless body.

Yamamoto stepped forward to stop the one-sided bloody fight only to be held back by Ryohei, who shook his head with a grave expression on his face.

The sound of beating was harsh on the ears. But suddenly, Goukdera took his move and stopped an oncoming blow with his bare hand. Using every muscle on his arms and abdomen, he tugged on his enemy's weapon with all his might. Then, he drew himself up quickly and kicked Hibari squarely in the shins. A hint of a grunt escaped Hibari's lips and he withdrew away with a huge leap.

Gokudera stood up, pain etched like a masterpiece on his also pissed off face. Plunging his hands inside his pockets, he drew out bombs and held them in front of him with his arms forming and "x".

The two opponents began circling each other cautiously. They both knew that the one who loses his footing and focus would be the one to fall. But maintaining their balance was no piece of cake. The mud held onto their shoes and each step went deeper than intended.

The air became tenser than ever and the onlookers broke out in sweat. It was nearly time now, just a little more and one of them might possibly lose his life.

Timing, it's all about timing.

Now! The both of them kicked hard from the ground and made for each other's throats- to kill.

"_Argh! Please hel_-"

All of them turned their heads towards the origin of the sound. The top!

TSUNAHIME!

**...ooo00800ooo…**

The Varia was also within sight of the peak when they heard Tsunahime's cry for help. Without further ado, they rushed to the top, with muscles straining themselves more than ever.

They rushed through whatever it was that blocked their path. They just couldn't remember anymore. All that mattered was Tsunahime.

Faster, feet, faster! You could say was that the sound they made was equal to that of a thundercloud. They literally thundered through everything at that time, not caring if their flesh was torn and hit by the things that barred their path.

As far as any of them was concerned, they've never worked their bodies harder than ever before. But if it was all for her, then it was all a piece of marshmallow. They can throw away their life as easy as trash.

Finally, finally. What is this? It's taking too long…she needs me now! Hurry! Faster!

Where is she? Where? Who's hurting her?

A clearing? Are those the flags? Yes!

Tsunahime!

Tsuna!

Jyuudaime!

My wife!

Omnivore princess!

Little sister!

My princess!

My rival! DIE! DIE!

Is there money waiting for me there?

…**ooo00800ooo…**

The wind was blowing on her hair, chasing it down to curly rivulets. There were tears on her eyes. And she was smiling, oh yes. Smiling in relief that is.

Many pairs of eyes of every color drifted all over her being, their gaze, as soft as a feather, landing on her to check if she was hurt in any way. Hands? No blemishes. Feet? Her sandals suit her. Face? She's as cute as always. Dress? Not torn, no sign of a fight. And blue looks good on her. (Everything looks good on her! My gosh! Can't you boys be more obvious and the same time oblivious? When will your eyes land on-)

Head? A hand is on top of it.

She has the prettiest-

Retake!

_**What? Who is that?**_

…**ooo00800ooo…**

**I'm sorry if I have disappointed you guys in many ways. But I am trying hard to meet your expectations, please don't get mad at me and continue reading this.**

**Please continue voting for your favorite guy! And keep the reviews coming! I'll take it all in.**

**Thanks a lot!**

**-mikage-me07**


	25. Chapter 26

**CHAPTER 26**

**ENTER: A NEW ar-RIVAL?**

All of them stared.

And stared.

They just stood there and stared for all they were worth. Was this the one of the life-threatening situations when a plant you have encountered in the jungle suddenly turned out to be a hallucination-inducing-gas- secretor kind of plant? What the heck was up with that cliché?

_If I were to have a fairy godmother, I would wish that the gas plant was true. Because right now, I'm aching to rip that man's hand away from my Jyuudaime!_ If looks could kill, Gokudera would've been dealing deadly blows by now.

_If I were to be a god, I'd be electrifying this son of a bitch and frying his balls on a barbecue stick by a bonfire._ Yamamoto was clenching his fist so fiercely that it started bleeding.

_If I were a fish, I'd be eaten by now,_ thought Levi.

_If I were to grab that man's head and bash it into that thick tree trunk, would it save more of my time and energy that throwing my tonfas straight into his ugly face?_ _Ah, but of course former would have to hurt more. I'll just have to go for the more hurting option, it sounds satisfying._ Have you ever seen a dark miasma in the shapes of sakura blossoms? (That was cool.)

_If I were to take him out now, will Vongola marry me?_ Mukuro's eyes gleamed with a morbid intent.

_If I were to kill him now and roast him and then hang his charred remains by my castle, will the princess be mine? Of course, she will, she's already mine to begin with._ Bel nodded and congratulated himself.

_If I really am a good brother, I'll wait for Tsuna-chan to scream my name and then rescue her like a prince charming._ That would be extremely dramatic!

_If I were any smarter, I would be looking for Lussuria right now and exchange money to ensure his safety from Xanxus' wrath. Ah, I could also make a bet with Bel right now: "Who gets to Tsuna first and save her from the white dragon?"._ Yes, that would lose them a lot of money to me. Mammon jingled his pockets excitedly.

"If I were you, I'd be running and screaming by now. Not that screaming your head off would help you to outrun my bullets, though." Xanxus said and as he did, he drew out his gun.

…**ooo00800ooo…**

_Ah, she's as sinfully beautiful as ever._

_If only I could get my body to work and draw out my damn nightsticks, I'd tackle the son of a bitch right away._

_ The omnivore princess is mine. Only mine. Nobody gets their way by just touching her like that and getting away with it._

_ I can't take it; maybe I should behead this stupid trident guy as a warning to that white-haired man? Maybe he'll be scared and just push the omnivore princess right into my arms. I'm sure we'll both find it a perfect fit._

_ Or maybe I should opt to control my anger and kill him anyway in a calmer manner? That would be cooler to look at._

Hibari controlled his anger and converted it into pure hatred- doesn't make any difference, does it? He went directly for the man's head at the same time that Xanxus made his own move towards Tsunahime and her captor.

…**ooo00800ooo…**

_Hey, that's not fair. The Varia boss is ranting as if he owned my Jyuudaime. I'm her right-hand man! I'm supposed to lead the way!_

Gokudera drew out half of the bombs at his disposal, which was… a lot.

He started to breathe deeply. Collecting his thoughts, he arranged the whole situation into a battle ground within his mind.

_This means war. Anyone who dares touch my Jyuudaime is to be blown up to pieces before they could say the words, "before I die"._

In this battle ground, he was the one to win. That's for sure.

…**ooo00800ooo…**

_Before anything else, I would like to tell the white-haired man to let go of Tsuna and give her back. Because of he didn't, well…he had it coming anyway._

_ Wait. But I don't want to say that, it won't be fun. I'll just cut him to pieces. _

_ Yes. That plan's simpler and straight to the point. Oh, I hope he wets his pants._

_Wait again. I'll_ make _him wet his pants_.

_Now, to start with, I would like this baseball bat to be a sword and then I can proceed with this sure kill plan._

…**ooo00800ooo…**

_Ushishishi. Interesting. I've never felt more anger than right now._

_ I'll rip him to shreds. I'll section him to pieces and hang him by my chandelier. I'll keep his eyes open for a little longer for him to see that he messed with the wrong princess._

_I'll reap his soul. it's what I can promise_

…**ooo00800ooo…**

**I would've been extremely delighted and relieved to tell you that NOTHING FOLLOWS.**

** …**

** But you would kill me simply for that right? Yeah. Yeah. I know. Honestly, I also wouldn't want to miss the fun. What, with all the throat-slitting and all that. But what can I do? I'm just a narrator. And believe me when I say that this job is killing me.**

…**ooo00800ooo…**

While all of them were rushing to the rescue and while spouting death threats along the way, the man dressed in a white suit and white hair looked down on Tsunahime and smiled.

"Wow, Tsunahime, you have very rude friends. They're coming at me without any proper introduction. Maybe I should punish them."

"N-no. Please don't hurt them." Tsuna begged weakly, fraught with fear for her friends.

"There's nothing to worry about, it's only just a sting to them." The man smiled handsomely and wickedly at her. And as he did, he raised his right hand and made a motion as if to bring it back down.

_Argh! Run, everyone! Run for your life! _

_ He looks so formidable. Is he bringing down judgement on us all? We're gonna die!_

She wanted to close her eyes and let the moment, the very thought of losing her friends, kill her.

_This is it. She was seeing their smiling faces before her eyes._

_ This is it. I always have these flashbacks the moment I see Reborn push some button. What did I do to deserve this? Why me?_

She felt a gentle pressure on her back. She felt her body become light and be pulled upward. She saw the man's face smirking at her in a wicked, wicked way as he narrowed down the distance between them. She felt a gentle pressure on her lips and then, the world went white.

…**ooo00800ooo…**

**Yes! I finally did it! Here's an update for you. Whoot. I finally did it. I'm sorry (I hope you don't get tired of reading that) for taking so long.**

**This chapter comes with a promise with my dear friend, who, I hope, is reading this. She reminded me to update my story. And here it is! **

**Please continue to vote for your best guy and keep the reviews coming!**

**Thank you so much.**


	26. Chapter 27

**CHAPTER 27**

**CONUNDRUM**

All of them stared.

And stared.

They just stood there and stared for all they were worth. Was this the one of the life- threatening situations when- wait, what? Haven't we gone over this part before.

Anyway, they couldn't help it. Who the heck wouldn't be dumbfounded to see the love of your life get kissed by a guy you don't even know and just right in front of you, to boot? Who could possibly keep their jaws in place when that guy has been at it for four seconds now? And who, in their right mind, would not explode in anger and rush at Byakuran with a loud ringing in their ears, maddening eyes and with bare hands aching to close it around a throat and wring the life out of him?

And so they did rush at the criminal, as they called him, while screaming all the swear words and treats they know.

But they're not our main concern for now…

_Why? What's happening? I feel feint, but slightly numb and most of all, weird. What's up with all the noise? Am I dreaming? If so, what the heck is up with the guys screaming their heads off. And what's up with this warm sensation on my waist and chest_. _Not to mention my_ lips. _Can anybody tell me what's going on?_

Because, most of all. Shouldn't we be feeling a lot more sympathy for Tsunahime? She's the one being-

SOMEONE IS KISSING ME!, blurted Tsunahime mentally when she opened her eyes and caught a glimpse of a face and a tuff of white puffy hair. She was stricken dumbfounded that she was almost certain she had gone into shock.

What? What's going on? Racking her brains for an answer, her mind came upon her last scene at the beach. She and Lussuria were watching the teams' progresses, Lussuria was coercing her into drinking his juice of death, then before the drink touched her lips, the ground shook violently and her sight began to dim…but just after she saw a flash of white in her peripheral vision.

And surprisingly, she was in a place where the wind was strong, as it was lifting the hem of her skirt and someone was holding her upright. She knew it was a male person because of she was able to feel the strength of the arms that bind her to a standing position. There was also the feeling of a slight pressure upon her head, as if somebody was touching her there. Through bleary eyes, she caught the surreal silhouette of her friends. Had it all been a dream? Certainly not, she chided herself. Nobody should have been kissing me now, shouldn't they? All of these thoughts passed through her mind and she was seemingly reliving them with vengeance, trying with all her might to determine who was responsible for all of this.

The answer came to her in a breathless whisper just after the sickening sound of her assaulter's lips and hers parting.

"Oh, I quite forgot, how silly of me. The name's Byakuran by the way, at your service."

_Seriously? Can't you have said that for starters?_

…**ooo00800ooo…**

** This chapter's obviously short. Yes, it is, without a doubt, Byakuran who kissed our dear Tsunahime. And I have increased the allowable vote to three. Please check out the poll and continue to vote. I've added Byakuran.  
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** Please keep your reviews coming!**

** P.S. I actually forgot about Squalo in the previous chapter, and for that I'm very sorry.**


	27. Chapter 28

**CHAPTER 28**

**FULL BLAST**

_This is classic. The way they all react is just pathetic. I can't believe they care so much for this good-for-nothing Vongola trash._ Byakuran smiled snidely while still keeping his lips on Tsunahime's.

_Won't they ever shut up? And this girl is widening her eyes far too much. I won't be surprised if it just pops out of their sockets._

_ Ooops! Here they come._

The Vongola and Varia, with their enmity for each other cast aside at the heat of the moment, thundered towards Byakuran and Tsunahime. They saw the white-haired guy break off from the kiss ("It was an assault! Hardly a kiss! I can't accept that", was what some of them thought.); a smug look on his stupid face. It made them all the more enraged. Weapons faithfully on their sides, they rushed at him blindly and they let their bodies full of adrenaline lead the way.

They slashed, punched, aimed and shot, threw bombs, exchanged coins, and did who knows what just to illicit the desirable effect: DEATH. But however hard they tried, a single hit did not even land on Byakuran's hide. And they did it with all the viciousness seeping out of their core. It would have been appropriate to add that a constant hum of electricity hung in the air. It was static.

Still Byakuran dodged all their attacks, breaking out a laugh as he did so. He moved from side to side and parried their attacks by using each of his opponents against their own allies. He moved as if he were a dancer in the stage, only that his dance partner would be the undead from the apocalypse.

His emanating laugh only served to fuel his opponents' blood lust. Calling forth more energy from wherever it came from, they renewed their attacks and paid more attention to their allies in order to avoid them being used as his means of destruction. They began to send signals to each other. If it were a normal situation, where Tsunahime did not just get kissed by some guy in front of them, they would have had more room in their heads to register surprise at their fluidity in coordinating with each other, even with the Varia. A mere glance, a twitch of the arm and a pointing finger indicated where they were supposed to attack and when to switch attacks. Anyone who would have been able to see the work at play would be able to conclude that they were, as a matter of fact, a very good team indeed.

Mukuro and Hibari coupled their attacks on him. Mukuro released his illusions without delay and with confidence while Hibari danced his way to get a closer range on the confused enemy. But Byakuran was not confused, not one bit, he whisked all the illusions away with a wave of his hand and parried Hibari with his bare hands. But that was after Hibari landed a hit on his shoulder, which he took heavily. The duo retreated, with snarls evident on their faces. While they edged away from the enemy, Gokudera threw his bombs. Squalo and Yamamoto went inside the smoke, using their heightened senses to feel their way to the enemy. And they found him, grinning from ear to ear. They slashed mercilessly. Bringing out the instincts and skills of a hitman from inside of them, they managed to cut Byakuran across his cheek.

Byakuran was obviously panting now, and the sun guardian of the Vongola and the Varia's own storm and mist guardians move forward. While the previous teams were distracting Byakuran, Mammon and Bel set up traps to pin their enemy. Byakuran was able to dogde them- until Ryohei came. Years of training made him the boxer he was now. He rushed with a surprising lightning type of speed, activating traps along the way and dodging them without much effort. Being a boxer, he was experienced to exhibit feints. And that was exactly what he did. He made a show of maneuvering his lithe body to the left, only to reverse his way to the opposite direction in the last minute. Byakuran was sure to get hit by the traps that he set off earlier; he had not seen them coming, since Ryohei used his maneuver to the left to cover the incoming knives. A satisfying grunt escaped Byakuran's lips as a knife impaled itself an inch-deep into his leg.

The enemy was now limping, bleeding, no longer smiling, and clutching his cut arm- all to the satisfaction of his adversaries. So who's smiling now?

Think they've had enough?

"Hey, trash. Stop looking pathetic over there. We're just getting started." Xanxus said.

Hibari had seen the hint, and he rushed forward, wearing a look that would make a person actually _beg_ for the shinigami to come and claim his soul early. He bared his teeth and let a hiss escape his lips. Byakuran was at the ready for the onslaught, he also managed to produce a dangerous look on his face. He started forward to meet Hibari's attack and to perform a counterattack. A few meters before colliding with his foe, he moved effortlessly to the side.

Before a steady heartbeat was over, Xanxus displaced Hibari and stood in front of the enemy. He cocked his gun at his adversary, and that stopped him from his tracks.

"What do you need from us? If you're looking for death, choose one among us to deliver it to you; and without delay. We're very good at that." He said imperiously.

To their increasing madness, Byakuran laughed at the face of a gun aimed at his heart.

"I have no need of you_, fools_." He drawled, enunciating the last word horribly. "The destruction of Vongola is what I _need_. And to do that, I had to get your precious Vongola Princess."

Xanxus smacked his gun on Byakuran's head. It made a sickening (Wonderful!) sound as it made contact with his skull. The act earned him approving looks from the Vongola and Varia vultures that surrounded them.

"Don't you dare touch her again! Fortunately, you won't be able to no matter what you do." Xanxus pointed his gun at the exact part where a human's heart was located, as he had done many times already.

"Oh, but I do have a next time and also the time after that. I have the whole eternity. The Vongola Princess, Tsunahime Sawada and I, are married."

…**ooo00800ooo…**

**Sooooo… what do you think? Pretty intense, huh? I'm not experienced with making the action scenes of a story, so bear with it!**

**I made this chapter to the pass the time. I'm making for midnight so my research group and I can go out and distribute questionnaires. Can you believe this? I'm so sleepy. So please find it in your hearts to forgive me if this chapter turns out sloppy. **

**So yeah, that's my drama for tonight.**

**I hope you like it! Please continue sending your reviews and votes. Thanks a lot.**

**P.S. to Shirayuki Sakura of Yomitsuki: Uh, no, I don't have a beta. Sorry for those mistakes. I'll work on it.**


	28. Chapter 29

**CHAPTER 29**

**OBLIVION**

_Hibari _

Oookkkaaayyy… I know what kind of situation I'm probably in right now. This is just one of those illusions that that pineapple head of an herbivore always makes. I can get through this. I did not hear that white- haired bastard tell me that he and my omnivore princess are already married. I did not feel the strong waves of the wind as a helicopter landed on top of the mountain where me and the herbivores stood gaping wide- mouthed at my princess. I did not see the baby with the fedora get out of the helicopter and congratulate the white-haired herbivore. I did not see Tsunahime crying while she was swept away by the bastard with his arm around her waist. I did not see them leave together with the baby. I did not just stare at my princess while all of this happened.

No, I did not feel anything at all. It did not break my heart. From that moment on, I did not have one.

_Xanxus_

If I were to go back in time, I'd go back to the time when I accidentally managed to land my hand on Tsunahime's front. I would change the outcome of my future by proposing to her right there and then to marry me. I would insist that she accept it because there is no other way that she would ever get a husband if somebody else had touched her that way already. I would talk to my father and have the whole Vongola and Varia organize our marriage that very same day. I would choose the suit I would wear that day as carefully as I have ever been careful in my whole life. We would get married at the Vongola mansion. There would be a Vongola priest (guns, upholsteries and all) to wed us. Everybody will be happy for the both of us- that the Vongola will finally have an heir. Her guardians and mine will be crying their eyes out: whether it be due to grief or joy, I would simply not care. At least if I would've done that, she would be mine…she would still be here. We would've still had that chance.

_Tsunahime_

I want to die. I will not complain anymore. I want Reborn to do his role and act as the good tutor he claims to be. He wants to blow me up? Fine. He wants to feed me to the monsters? Go ahead, and add traps along the way for good measure. He opts to shoot me in the head? Oh, sure! He can even use all the Vongola guns if he has to.

All I want right now, is to vanish into oblivion.

…**ooo00800ooo…**

**This is so stressful!**


	29. Chapter 30

**CHAPTER 30**

**COLD WELCOME**

"Boss, they're here!", sputtered out the subordinate who came running specifically to see the boss' reaction to the current situations- uh, that's not quite right; he came running specifically to deliver the bad news like a good mafia should. Yup, that was it.

The Ninth Vongola boss exhaled loudly and gazed down at the copter landing area. He can already hear it from his side of the mansion. The helicopter that bore Tsunahime, her new husband and Reborn touched down on the hard cement with a slight quake of the earth. Grief, evil, giddiness, happiness, stress, resentment, admiration and so on; the air surrounding the Vongola mansion carried too much emotions that day.

And the worst thing was, he understood those feelings perfectly, especially the feeling of grief.

He was getting impatient to get a direct report from Reborn. It has already been three days since he reported a malignancy in the plan that the both of them have schemed. (Aha!)

The plan was simple: find a suitable groom for Tsunahime from the candidates that have been prepared. Arrange a good-to-be-true vacation for all of them and then crash the plane they are boarding. Have them land in an unchartered island where the Vongola has previously set-up its surveillance team. Implant the idea of a death game into one of the individuals. The one who wins the race shall be the chosen one.

Yes, yes. That was the plan. But the events that followed it were ultimately unexpected.

They did arrange a get- away trip for the two groups. And he did order his men to plant bombs on the plane that Tsunahime and the others boarded.

The deviance in the plan came before the third phase of their plan. They did not expect that Bel would cause the others to rage and accordingly wreak havoc prematurely. And it ended up in the destruction of the plane before it was due time. An explosion and crash landing happened, but the place where they were supposed to go was not the one where they landed their young butts into.

When his subordinates reported to him about what happened, he admits to have panicked. And when he asked on what island the group has landed on, his worry grew.

White island. It was a known vacation island of mafia of every family. Although there has been intel that it was bought by a certain someone…

And here they were, the Vongola famiglia, sporting heartaches at seeing that their princess has been wed to somebody they don't even know in a place and time they can't even guess or confirm. They weren't even invited in the ceremony! And to think that family means everything.

But that was not the most troubling part at the time. It was the dark cloud hovering around the second and third helicopter. The pressure was unbelievably intense. A few Mafia even swore they saw lightning flash for a moment.

The second copter landed on the pad with unnecessary force that visibly jolted the vehicle. The third copter landed beside it with vengeance in the form of smoking engines and fire at the cockpit.

The pilot was dead. Pilots, was more appropriate. Since the person in the pilot seat of the second helicopter was displaying his lolling tongue in a very-dead manner.

_Why aren't Reborn coming out?_ ,wondered the Ninth. He moved closer to the window to see more clearly. The first one to come out was Tsunahime's husband. The information that reached me was correct, asserted the Ninth. He witnessed the white-haired young man with tattoo markings on his face offer his hand to help Tsunahime off the copter. _Well, at least he's a gentleman_. But then he remembered that this man married Tsunahime without informing the family and suddenly the act of being a gentleman amounted to mud.

A small and delicate hand reached out of the helicopter not to accept Byakuran's hand but instead to latch into the railings. And thus, Tsunahime helped herself out of the copter without the bastard's help and with her chin in the air. Ninth beamed down proudly.

Byakuran stood there and withdrew his hand with a shrug, albeit the sad look on his face.

Reborn was the last to leave the helicopter, his usually emotionless face carrying a somber look. Reborn lifted his head to look at the window where Ninth directly stood. A moment seemed to pass and Reborn withdrew. He talked briefly to the newlyweds and started making his way to the mansion without pausing to look behind if the others were following his stride or not.

…**ooo00800ooo...**

The passengers of the second and third copter got out and stomped their way into the mansion without a single look at Tsunahime. For all they were worth, they cannot deny the heavy burden on their chest as the feelings of betrayal grew and grew. They knew that Tsunahime was not to blame and that they should be comforting her instead, but still…

Thump, thump, thump. Each heavy footstep they took bore them farther away from the woman they love and her new husband.

Hell, even the mention of the H- word was making their heart bleed. Long time ago, they would not have minded the mention of the word as long as it involved incorporating into the same sentence the words: me or I, mine, mine alone, Tsunahime, my wife… and so on. But now, all it seemed to do was bring more grief to them.

Tsunahime saw to her surprise and hurt her friends leave her alone with the white island monster and trudge to the mansion in a straight line without even looking at her. She didn't want any of this! Tsunahime was indignant.

She followed their beeline with her damp eyes and looked away after a moment. There was no use in getting angry at them. She knew that they were as surprised and hurt as she was. They might be thinking how she did not even invite them to her wedding! But how was she supposed to know that, right? She herself did not even know exactly when and where the cursed marriage happened.

With hurt and sorrow jabbing at her heart, she followed Reborn inside the mansion.

…**ooo00800ooo…**

Whoosh! A gust of evil wind entered Ninth's office as the door opened to let in the Varia and Tenth generation Vongola. I really am getting old, thought Kyuudaime as he felt a chill run down his spine at the sight in front of him. All the men who entered the room were glaring daggers at everything their eyes came upon. They raved the room, and the prehistoric shark he had acquired last summer in the black market floated dead in its huge fish tank after a few seconds. Will you look at that? Looks _can_ kill.

The hitmen arranged themselves in a semicircle around Ninth and flattened their backs along the walls. And with that position facing the door, they waited with luminescent eyes and twitching lips. Aside from that, motion was deficient in the room.

…**ooo00800ooo…**

Byakuran couldn't help but be awed at the majestic presentation of the Vongola mansion. Gold- framed portraits of the Vongola bosses greeted him as they noisily made their way through the corridor. Tapestries of remarkable caliber hung upon the walls. Armors supporting various weapons seemed to dare him to take another step. Double doors, open and closed akin depicted the art of battle in their grandiose fashions. Even the floor amazed him with its luster quality, as if it was polished to match the shine of gold.

The noises that their footfalls made caught his attention now, as he drew upon the realization that the mansion was startlingly empty for all its scale. No busy Mafia bustling about, no maids running thru and fro as they met the demands of their employers or no wild beasts to guard the stately doors, all of which he had expected of the renowned Mafia family.

Stretching to an impossible distance, the corridor they were treading continued on and on. His companions have not uttered a single word and a quaint feeling he thought he would never feel introduced itself to him- dread.

He would have sworn that they walked on forever 'til the ends of time and his hair have all grown black when Reborn took a sharp right and came upon a portrait of the First. The frame was made of gold and silver splendidly wrought together and at each joint it sported a sparkling stone that Byakuran suspected to be black diamonds. Below the picture was an inscription:

_Vongola Primo_

_Father of Vongola Famiglia_

Reborn spoke and said: "Useless Tsuna".

A zapping sound emanated from within the portrait and the huge portrait, black diamonds and all rose upwards to vanish inside the wall, revealing a pitch black corridor.

"Hey! What was that about Reborn? How could you use that nickname as a password for the whole Vongola? How does that present my image now?" Tsuna complained all the way until they arrived at a white, luminescent door. Before going in, Reborn made his retort to Tsuna.

"I'm just informing the whole Vongola to be aware of how useless the next boss is, Useless Tsuna." The capitalization to the word useless was apparent.

"And don't pretend like you even have an image to present, anyway."

Before Tsuna could utter another sound, Reborn stepped inside the brightly lit room.

_How bright can this get?_, pondered Byakuran. With his eyes narrowed to slits due to the bright linghtings, he also stepped into the room, only to be assailed by hurls of poisoned darts.

…**ooo00800ooo…**

**This chapter was worth one cup of oolong tea, one glass of mango juice and a dozen Boyce Avenue cover songs. I don't know what came to me, but hey, I finished it.**

**You guys are voting for Hibari eh? What about the Xanxus fans over there, aren't you going to retaliate?**

**I also thank you for all your feedbacks, negative and positive alike. Please keep showering it upon me.**

**I also admit that fresh ideas are scarce nowadays, since reality keeps pulling my strings. But worry not, my fellow Mafia! I shall see this story to its end.**

**Bow.**


	30. Chapter 31

**CHAPTER 32**

**HEY, MATCH IT!**

_I can't make it. I possibly can't make it! Is this what they call biting more than you could chew?_ Byakuran's life kept flashing before his eyes as the darts came closer, closer and closer to his face.

_At least I died a married man_. He thought bitterly. He smiled at Tsunahime, well, more accurately at the back of her head since she loathed him that much not to even look at him. He closed his eyes and thought about his first and last kiss, the best prize (even as a consolation that maybe) in this big wicked world. He smiled.

Shing! Shing! Shing! Dozens of darts became buried inches deep.

"That's a shame. It was really handsome. That tapestry I mean." Reborn commented coldly.

Byakuran waited for the pain to come but none came. But when he opened his eyes, he was almost sure that he had died.

Tsunahime, in her hyper mode stood directly in front of him.

"Are you alright, Byakuran- san?" she asked with concern.

This is too good to be true. I believe that I'm dead.

"Please let me stay here in heaven," he replied breathlessly.

Tsunahime's forehead creased with a question and looked around the room.

_God, even the creases on her forehead are perfect_. Byakuran just couldn't move. He wouldn't.

"Well, currently, we're in hell."

Byakuran forced his eyes to be torn away from Tsunahime and also looked around.

All the hitmen in the room had their weapons out and were aiming them at him. If looks could kill- Then he saw a prehistoric shark floating dead in the corner and he withdrew the thought.

"Ninth, what are you doing?", asked Tsunahime incredulously and Byakuran whipped his head to gaze at the old man.

In between his fingers were darts dripping with fluid made of some nasty dark color.

"Why, my dear princess, I- we are setting you free from this wicked man who dares to call himself your husband." The old man pointed his darts at Byakuran. Despite the old man's aged features, Byakuran felt himself swallow nervously.

"But that doesn't mean you can kill him right away!"

_Um, what do you mean by right away? You mean it will be okay for them to kill me later?_

"Oh look at that, the ever soft- hearted useless Tsuna defending the man who would cause the demise of her family." Reborn smirked.

"Tha- that's… my family…" Tsunahime tried to grasp the words that keep evading her tongue.

"Or do you actually have feelings for him?"

Those. Words. Are. Taboo.

Suddenly, the room lit up with a menacing red glow that emanated from the eyes of Vongola and Varia. The air shifted from simple rage to madness in mere moments. Her friends advanced at if possessed by demons. Some of them even drooled!

_Scary! This is simply too much for me! Reborn's right anyway, why should I care for this white island monster? _

_But what they're trying to do isn't right!_

"Stop!" Tsunahime exclaimed from the top of her lungs. This seemed to stop the Mafia zombies from their tracks.

"I am angry too. But please don't be like this. Please understand that I can't stand anyone being hurt in front of me without any valid reason. I don't really understand what's happening that's why I want to know from Byakuran- san how all of this came to happen. We all need a good explanation that I believe only he can give.

"And besides, I don't want my friends to be hurt anymore because of me." Tsunahime tried to smile weakly at her guardians, and even included the Varia. Her stretched lips resembled a grimace more than the smile she was aiming for. But just the same, it worked perfectly.

Gokudera burst into tears.

"Tenth! I missed you! And I'm very sorry for how I acted before. I know you didn't want any of this but I still acted cold towards you. I'm so sorry Tenth! It's not like I doubted you or anything, it's just that I can't accept that man you're with. Please, forgive me!" Gokudera's speech ended with the perfect bow.

"I'm sorry too Tsunahime! I'm just extremely furious that you didn't even invite your big brother to your wedding! Don't do that again, little sister!" Ryohei landed on his butt and began wailing.

"I don't know what to say, Tsunahime. It's just that I don't quite agree with your decision this time. You've got a bad choice for men, I guess." Yamamoto had an evil glint in his eyes.

"Tsunahime, darling! I'm sorry that I let you out of my sight! I should've guarded you with my life back then!" Lussuria began spinning on the spot, raining down salty tears at anyone who dared to get close.

"I'm sorry that I doubted that you woldn't be fit for our boss, Tsunahime! I know now that you're definitely voi!" Squalo bowed to her. Mammon and Levi also bowed. Levi was at loss for words, a river of snot forming on his nose and Mammon was keeping a low profile while taking pictures of all the crying people.

"Tsunahime, you should know by now that you belong to me and not to that white- haired monster. I'm sorry if I don't accept this arrangement." Mukuro faced her with the most serious expression he has ever worn.

"Princess, you are meant for a prince only. And that is the truth. I'm sorry but I'll try to bust you out of here tonight.", assured Bel.

"Princess Omnivore, I do not allow cheating." But Hibari looked at her with a peculiar smiling expression on his face, as if he had already forgiven her.

"Hmph. Tsuna, I cannot accept this. We were not even given the chance." Xanxus looked at her as if he had never desired anyone else in his life. But that was also how the others looked at her.

Tsunahime, like most of the time, stood there gaping at them all.

"I- I probably don't…deserve…" she also broke down to tears.

…**ooo00800ooo…**

_I don't want to see this_. Byakuran had a dark look on his face as he saw Tsunahime wallowing in tears. _This is what I have to stop. This is why she has to stay with_ me. _She's supposed to always be with me. Always._

_They're making her cry. How dare they call themselves her guardians? _ All sorts of things kept going on his twisted mind by that time.

"I too cannot accept this.", proclaimed Reborn.

"My student deserves more than this."

"Reborn!", was all Tsunahime could utter in her surprise.

"Even I cannot accept this." Ninth smiled encouragingly at Tsunahime.

A laugh broke out inside the room. They all turned their gaze to Byakuran's direction.

"But it's done. No matter how much you say that you don't accept out marriage, it's done. I've got all the documents processed and done. She is now under the name of the Gesso family." Byakuran smirked smugly and clasped Tsunahime's hand (_No!_) in his.

_Mafia zombies, continue to advance! Wipe him out of the face of the earth!_

His statement was answered by a low chuckle coming from Reborn. All heads turned to him in likely unison of a tennis match.

"Oh, you fool. Do you think that it's that easy to steal something so important from the Vongola Famiglia?" Something about the look Reborn was donning caused Byakuran's arrogant grin to waver.

"Whatever do you mean?" Byakuran's smile had disappeared altogether.

"Oh!" exclaimed the Ninth.

"Reborn, you can't mean…" Reborn nodded to answer the current Vongola boss' unspoken query.

It was as if a light bulb has lighted somewhere and caused the Ninth's face lighting up with hope.

"What? What is it? Is there a way that Tsunahime can be freed? Tell us!" Gokudera stepped up angrily to enunciate his demand.

"Vongola is one of the most ancient Mafia families," began Reborn.

"We are forever bound to our heritage and thus we shall see through every tradition." Everyone waited on baited breath.

"There is only one way that a Vongola princess can be taken away from the family. That is to _win_ her." Realization broke out of Gokudera's and the Varia's faces. Considering that they grew up in the Mafia world, they were the only ones who understood where the conversation was heading.

"Hey! It's not fair that Gokudera and the Varia are the only ones nodding their heads understandingly!" Yamamoto was sporting a vexed look.

As an answer, Reborn said:

"Consent from the higher ups is not needed. One can openly declare this challenge to the Vongola Famiglia.

"As the tutor of the Vongola Princess and as the Arcobaleno carrying the yellow pacifier of the sun, I now declare that the Engagement Games have begun!"

**...ooo00800ooo…**

**So? Do you like it? Do you like it? Oh my gosh,**_** do you like it?**_

**I'm sorry if I'm hyper by now, coffee does that to me.**

**And what's this? Even I feel sorry for all of them, especially for the prehistoric shark. Sigh.**

**And did you know that scientists have just discovered flying squids? Oh, never mind.**

**Watch out for the next chapter!**


	31. Chapter 31 Sidestory

**CHAPTER 31**

**MADE OF HONOR**

There were no other words to describe her. No words seem to be strong enough or mild enough to appropriately label the look on her face, from her bleeding nails up to the split ends of her hair strands.

Angry? Lacks depth.

Annoyed? Too plain.

Irked? What the hell does that mean?

Mad? Close enough.

How about raging with unmistakable anger? Well, that seems like it.

Bianchi was raging with unmistakable anger when the news got snagged in her ears.

That was supposed to be the next chapter of the manual! "Don't elope with someone Bianchi hasn't approved of!"

But that useless student of hers was just too dumb and got off married with some slimy worm anyway. Couldn't she have waited until she had found someone of Reborn's caliber (_but I seriously doubt if there is anyone out there like my Reborn_, Bianchi started to make heart bubbles)? Why didn't Tsunahime at least call her and ask her what color was in for the season? Who should make the invitations? Who shall design her wedding dress? _Why can't she be the maid of honor?_

The last question was what had frustrated her the most. Weren't they supposed to be friends? Or at least very close friends? Bianchi _is_ Reborn's future wife after all. And Reborn is Tsunahime's tutor. Wasn't it very simple to look at? Bianchi is Tsunahime's tutor who is Reborn's future wife. (Bianchi glowed red with rage.) Bianchi is Reborn's future tutor and Tsunahime's wife. (What the heck is wrong with you?, shrieked Bianchi.)

Bianchi is the future wife of Reborn, who tutors Tsunahime.

"Ah, Reborn. That had the nicest ring to it." Bainchi slumped to the floor and turn to jelly.

She was about to turn to a lesser viscous substance when the door to her room opened.

Bang! She barely got time to stand up and brace herself as a familiar weight latched itself into her body. Immediately, her rage flew back. She began opening her mouth to let out the fresh string of poisoned words. But she stopped short upon the state of the girl in the black dress.

"Tsunahime, what happened? Why are you wearing black?" Concern for her (possibly) only friend caused Bianchi's eyebrows to meet.

"I- hic! Was… trying. But- hic! Then they said- hic! Hic! Why was I- I didn't m-mean. Hic! Bian-,

"I don't know anymore! Waaah! Wah!" And the girl tried to wail her heart out.

"Oh, it's okay darling. We'll figure this out, okay?" She felt Tsunahime nod her head vigorously but even Bianchi herself was not convinced that they can fix something as large as this.

"But my friends, Gokudera- Hic!" She began to shriek miserably at the mention of her friend's name.

"They'll get hurt even more if they care about me!"

"You know that's not true. They have always believed in you. Isn't that how all of you have come so far? You should believe in them too. They're still shocked by all of these and they don't know how to make sense of it. And the only way they can do that is to fight it out of their systems.", said Bianchi kindly while stroking her hair.

"You really think so, big sister?" Tsunahime looked at her with her big brown eyes that sparkled with tears. Bianchi's heart did push-ups upon hearing the big sister part.

"Why of course, remember, big sisters know best. Okay?"

"Yes, Bianchi- nee- san."

They stayed in that position for hours, until Tusnahime grew tired and fell asleep in her arms. Bianchi even tried to break out a tune or two but even she herself admits that they were far from comforting.

…**ooo00800ooo…**

**Okay! Who's up for sisterly love?**

**Thanks for the reviews everyone! Please keep the reviews and the votes coming!**


	32. Chapter 32

**CHAPTER 32**

**CHILDHOOD MEMORIES**

_"Stop that! What you're doing is bad!", the high- pitched voice of a little girl drifted through the air._

_ "What do you care?", the boy shouted back. He stood up from what he was doing- marking a line in the caterpillar's stomach where he was meaning to dissect it with a scalpel._

_ Despite the fact that he was only ten and a half years old, he was considerably tall with a lean body, not something common among his age group. His purplish irises held wisdom well beyond his peers. But the most noticeable part of him was his hair. All strands were of the color white but you could also describe it as near the shine of silver. The tuff of hair sprouting from his head was what drew the little girl, who was acting like she was the one being violated, with her tiny hands folded on her hips._

_ Dusting his white buttoned shirt as he drew himself up, he turned to look at the newcomer._

_ "And who are you, stranger?"_

_ The girl, already red in the face, made a sound to emphasize her disgust of him._

_ "That's rather rude, don't you think? Shouldn't you introduce yourself first before you ask another's name? And I don't want to tell you mine, since you were so ruthlessly going to cut up that poor thing over there with that vicious doctor's knife in your hand. And how come you have one of those anyway? They're not for kids, you know." The little girl's anger was dissipating slowly as she poured out all that was in her mind._

_ After all her talk, the boy's response was: "Now you're just babbling. I don't have time for you so get out of my sight." And with that snappy remark, he turned back to torment the insect on his makeshift altar._

_ "What? How dare you speak like that to a lady? You're not a gentleman at all! How very rude indeed." The girl was stomping her foot at the beginning of every sentence to mark her point._

_ "How very rude indeed.", imitated the boy with the scalpel in a ridiculously high- pitched voice._

_ "I don't care what you think. Now get out of the way, little girl." He meant to push aside the girl but she sidestepped; what he pushed was thin air._

_ "Little girl? Little girl?", her shrill voice rang through the clearing that they were inhibiting._

_ "You talk big even though we're of the same age, little boy." That finally made him look at her._

_ What caught his attention was not her revealing his true age despite his outwardly looks and it was also not that she just called him a "little boy". It was the way she said those words. She spits out the words in a lilting voice that he hasn't heard before, since small dark voices were whispering in his ears to go on with the operation._

_ She wore a one piece dress filled with ribbons and laces. A wide- brimmed hat also adorned her chestnut brown hair that was let loose to play with the wind. The sandals that covered her feet raised her height a good two inches above normal. And all of the things she wore were white and made of the same expensive materials that were used on his garb._

Another rich kid, huh? _He thought to himself while sizing up the girl before him_. She must someone from the families that came for the masquerade ball tonight. If that's true, then she'll be a huge asset to my family if I befriend her right now. _He thought evilly._

_As all of these came to pass his mind, he brought out a huge and attractive smile and faced the girl properly, bowing a little as he did so._

_ "And how do you do, my lady? Pardon me for my behavior, the heat was getting to my nerves it seems." The big fake smile never slipped from his face for a split second. To his surprise, the girl was not getting attracted to him, but was wearing a frown that became uglier by the second._

_ "That's even more disgusting, you acting like that. Can't you just be honest to yourself and drop that fake smile of yours?" her eyes were glowing dangerously and he was taken aback. But he plowed on through the conversation._

_ "Whatever are you saying, young lady? I was just not being myself a while ago." He broadened his smile generously. But to his disappointment, the girl in all- white took a step back away from him and was glaring daggers at him._

_ "The person I met a while ago was your true self, mister. Do not try to hide it from me. I find it repulsive to see someone as young as you wear a fake mask. _

"_You're probably thinking that I will be an asset to your family as a friend but I'm begging you to stop. Kids like us do not have to think about that right now." Thrusting her chin up, she regained the step she tool back earlier._

_Her conversation partner was incensed. A glare to match hers sprang up from his handsome face._

"_You don't have the right to tell me what to do. You're just some rich family's kid. You have no right to tell me off not to make political relations to benefit my family. As an heir, I have to do what's fit for the family's prosperity, even if it's to make fake smiles and say ridiculous curtsies." His cheeks were glowing red by the time he finished._

_To his utter amazement, the girl had the nerve to look offended._

"_I'm not just some rich family's kid. I was just here to play in this area. My father's a bodyguard of a rich family and they took me along to dress me up and parade me around in an outrageous dress and in outrageous heeled sandals." She puffed her cheeks and pouted._

Could she be saying the truth? _He was conversing on his mind when the girl held out a thin and pale hand in front of him._

"_My name is Tsunahime Sawada. Can we please start over again and be friends?" she said with a dazzling smile._

_As an heir to a Mafia family, he has been trained not to trust anyone and to lock his heart in steel bars and throw away the key without batting an eyelash. _

_Another part of his training was not to trust anybody but himself._

_He was also trained and now an expert in reading the intentions of others, since a lot of trouble can result from a single mistake._

_All those trainings he had were flung out of the window a hundred stories down._

_Now, looking at the delicate hand of a little girl his age, wearing the most radiant smile he has ever seen in his short young life, he almost fell apart at the feeling of he was experiencing for the very first time._

Someone, someone finally smiled honestly at me!

_He mustered up an equally quelling smile and shook her hand._

"_Pleased to meet you, Tsunahime. I'm-"_

…**ooo00800ooo…**

Byakuran woke up to the feeling of not being able to breathe. Cold sweat clung to his clothes and his back was uncomfortably damp. He gasped a huge lungful of air and expelled it in one heaving breath.

He got up from the bed he was temporarily occupying and padded on to the bathroom with the intention of washing his face with cold water to clear up his head.

The bathroom had an ornate mirror, wide as it was long, hanging on one wall. The face that he saw did not wear the same pathetic love struck expression he wore earlier today, but was filled with bitter resentment and contempt.

"A dream again, huh?"

…**ooo00800ooo…**

**As is customary, I thank all who support this story. To those who find the time to review it chapter after chapter, I salute you!**

**Keep the reviews and votes coming!**


	33. Chapter 33

**CHAPTER 33**

**GAME ONE: SEEK THE DEVIL**

Sixteen years.

Tsunahime has lived at least sixteen years of life. She admits that those years were not exactly the best a person can have but, hey, don't be choosy, right?

Eight. She bent her middle finger in front of her as she counted the years. And while a finger was bent to indicate the number, memories come flooding to her mind.

At age nine a group of boys at school decided to make her a girl. So they dressed him up with girly outfits, which, it turns out to be- the real definition of a disaster. The bullies made a crappy job. After they were done, Tsuna was as close to looking like a girl as to Levi looking like the princess of Xanxus' royal life.

Ten. Tsuna tripped on a paper Mache depicting a rock during a school play and fell head on, burying his face on the principal's overly enlarged breasts.

Wait.

He was even wearing the snow white costume at that time because his classmate called in sick and he was, according to his homeroom teacher, the "prettiest option".

Eleven. He sat on his birthday cake.

Twelve. He did not celebrate his birthday.

Thirteen. He saw a beautiful girl. _Well, that wasn't so bad_. Until he found out that his crush was the little sister of the most notorious bully at school. _Uh…true love can wait. Maybe until her brother's dead?_

Fourteen. Not worth mentioning.

Fifteen. Reborn.

And so her sixteen years are, so far the worst sixteen years anyone can have.

_That's not bad at all!_ She thought stretching her lips to show a positive outlook in life.

…**ooo00800ooo…**

"Okay, I've decided to die. I had a happy life." She announced.

"What? Stop saying such things, Tenth! I'm gonna win this thing and then we can run away together." Gokudera had those puppy eyes again and was engaging the tail wagging as was self-written in his job description.

"Oh come on, Tsunahime. You can't be saying things like that. Ha ha ha. You're making me want to kiss you senseless." Yamamoto laughed out loud and wound his arms around Tsunahime's waist.

"Hey, watch it you moron. That's my wife you're harassing. Drop dead right now." Mukuro swatted Yamamoto's hand away and placed his own hand on the small of her back.

"Hey! That's my sister. Let her go to the extreme!" a punch was aimed by Ryohei.

"…"

Everything and every member of the male species in the room was blown at least five meters away from the Vongola Princess.

_That's better_, thought Hibari as he settled with nestling his chin on Tsunahime's neck, her back to him and his arms around her protectively.

_If anyone can read my mind right now, let me ask you this:_

_Do you see why I want to end my life right now?_

…**ooo00800ooo…**

A pair of shiny lenses glimmered in the distance.

The sweltering heat of the sun managed to increase the rage building in his chest by a notch.

This was the state he was in when Bel and Mammon found Xanxus hidden beneath the bushes overlooking the Vongola camp.

Growling deeply, his primitive bloodlust attempted to bubble forth and erupt like a volcano. He wanted to aim all the magma at the Vongola cloud guardian.

"That trash, acting like he's conquered the prize." Xanxus handed the binoculars to Bel. Because had he not done that, that would have been the umpteenth pair of binoculars he had crushed. Mammon sat himself on the pile of broken binoculars.

Bel got a look at through the lenses. The binoculars shattered like thin glass under his long fingers. So much for not breaking them, boss. Just hand it over to the subordinate so he can crush it instead.

Mammon handed him another one. It was made from titanium ore this time.

"Damn that commoner, acting like he already won the war." The titanium casing of the lenses creaked in protest as dents appeared on its surface. Mammon, quick as light, snatched his precious binoculars from intermittent destruction.

"Hey! This is quite a fortune, idiot."

Bel ignored him. Instead, he turned to his boss. The boss had a ready answer.

"Losing means death. Call the whole team. " Xanxus grinned. And right now he resembled a vampire out for blood after being hungry for so long.

"We'll be playing these games."

…**oo0880oo…**

Byakuran got up that morning, feeling like his usual self- determined, cheerful and hopeful being; a big smile plastered to his face.

He washed, dressed, and ate his breakfast that was lying in the table beside his bed.

Then, he went out of the door.

(What? What were you expecting? There's no event with Byakuran unlike the others. First of all, there's no one there for him to argue with.)

Footsteps echoing loudly in the hallway, he retraced his steps and headed for the largest pavilion in the Vongola estate.

…**.ooo00800ooo…**

The three warring parties arrived at almost the exact moment under the enormous confines of the Primo pavilion. It was named as such because the First was said to be found sleeping under it while ditching paperwork during his time.

An electronic sound started the groups. All heads swiveled too marvel at a statue of a cherub as smoke gathered around its base. The statue began to sink eventually into the stone it was set upon. And when it was completely gone, another statue began to emerge from the slab of stone, wearing the same outfit and posing the same way as the other cherub. But they saw that this was more… colorful.

The life- like statue finished revolving around the spot like a ballerina in a music box. It blinked.

"Ciaossu!"

Almost everybody collapsed on their knees.

The remaining participants who maintained their composure nodded or muttered their greetings at the baby like this were an everyday occurrence.

"You've all gathered today for a single purpose. To claim this princess."

All eyes turned to where he pointed but there was nothing there. Instead, another electronic sound reverberated in the air behind them.

"About face!" yelled Reborn. They needed no telling twice.

"Idiots." Murmured Reborn.

A fountain emerged in their midst. Bluish waters and lilies played in the small pond. The blue water was poured by a goddess wearing a thin toga that was soaked and sticking to her flesh, revealing the lacy chemise she was wearing underneath.

"The goddess!" Reborn motioned to her, at the same direction this time.

They all bowed.

"The heck! What goddess? I look like a frightened cat that you just dumped into the middle of the sea, Reborn!"

Oohs and aahs spread through the group.

"Wonderful!" they all clapped.

"Useless Tsuna, if I were to dump you in the middle of the sea, you would not even reach a few meters below the water." His eyes twinkled evilly.

"I'd dump you there with a dozen sharks, just to be sure."

"Reborn! Get me down from here!" replied Tsunahime. She dared not counter his remark. There was a feeling in her chest that she just signed her death contract with Reborn by giving him the idea.

Gokudera removed his coat and ran to Tsunahime. He jumped into the pond.

And got electrocuted.

"The rules are as follows:

"One. You are not to touch Tsunahime during the games." Said Reborn.

If Gokudera would have been able to say his thought out loud, he'd be throwing bombs. (That's _acting_ your thought, Gokudera- kun! Your brain's addled!)

"Two. Once an enemy has been wounded gravely but still alive, he is to be removed from the games and seek medical help. This is a special rule made by the Ninth.

"Three. As my special rule, kill each other until everyone drops dead." They all nodded appreciatively while Tsunahime, stuck to the pond, was shaking her head from side to side miserably.

"That is all for the rules. And as for the mechanism of the game itself, listen carefully.

"The Engagement Games will be held for three days. One game per day.

"The games shall be scored depending on the performance. Five points for the winner, three points for second place and one point for the loser. In case that there is a tie, a rematch shall be arranged.

"The accumulated points within these three games shall be the basis for the winner.

"And as for the prize…" Reborn shot an arrow using Leon-transformed-into-a-bow and shot Tsunahime's jar. The piece of porcelain shattered, drenching what little piece of clothing Tsunahime has managed to air-dry while Reborn explained the rules.

"What? Reborn!" She screamed until her voice broke. When she recovered, still breathing heavily, the Ninth was standing in front of her, a good meter away from the pond. As expected, he was also wearing a white toga and sandals.

"I'm sorry for the treatment Tsunahime, my dear. But Reborn said that this would make the games more exciting. And if it helps, I'm very sure that it does exactly that. Just look at them." Both of them looked at the three groups of drooling, tongue- lolling, unperceivable- mumbling men.

"Please hang on for just a bit longer Tsunahime." She nodded.

The Ninth rotated to face the participants.

"I shall now announce the rules and mechanism of the first game."

They all stood in attention.

"The first game starts right after I end my speech. Rendezvous at the Vongola River of Styx. Only one participant is allowed to join the game. So if you may, elect the guardian right now.

For the first time in their Mafia life, no fight broke out after such statement. They all seemed to understand what each other were trying to do.

The other two groups arranged themselves in semi- circles and watched each other, calculating and planning.

Finally, Mukuro stepped out from the Vongola. Squalo also took a step forward.

Byakuran, being a one- man team that he was, of course, was left with no other choice but to step forward. Not that he minded anyway. He came to the Vongola with every fiber of his being intending to win Tsunahime over.

"Your objective: bring the scythe of the guardian of the Vongola River of Styx to Tsunahime's feet."

The ankles that peeped in under the toga that Tsunahime was wearing made them emphasize the last word of the Ninth's speech. Tempted much?

"The first game: Seek the Devil, starts now!"

…**ooo00800ooo…**

**Yes! I finished it! Ha ha.**

**For this chapter, a continuous flow of food down my gullet was necessary to keep the cogs in my brain rolling.**

**Thank you very much for your heart- warming reviews. I offer this wholeheartedly, to those who continue to support this story and those who take the time to review it and vote, in order to satiate your KHR hunger.**

**Until the next time!**


	34. Chapter 34

**CHAPTER 34**

**CROSS WORLDS**

_Pinneapple-head's Evil POV_

(What the- you'll pay for that you worthless author!)

*Stab*

(*Author falls down clutching her bleeding shoulder*

"Damn you, you ungrateful charac-"

*Tongue lolls out grossly*)

"Ehem..."

Mukuro shifted his stance to find his comfortable zone.

"Where were we? Ah! Here goes..."

_Rukudo Mukuro, Future Vongola Boss, Future Husband of Sawada Tsunahime and the Most Powerful Guardian of All Time's POV_

(?_?)

And so the engagement games began.

As you well know, I'm leading right now. I've been running for almost an hour and I'm getting tired of all this crap. Wherever my competitors are now, I don't want to know, nor do I care. Eating my dust, I'm sure, and I smirked with sound effects.

This game is too easy. If this goes on, the Vongola Princess and I will be wedded in a fortnight. Oh wait, make that tonight. Kufu fu fu.

(See how conceited this ungrateful character is? Totally turn off-ish mien.)

Die, you scumbags! Die! I kept chanting those horrid words while releasing a great deals of illusions to confuse (and especially kill) my enemies. Kufu fu fu! I, the mist guardian kept laughing (...his butt off- which is probably shaped like a pineapple anyway) until I heard a sudden rustle of leaves ahead of me.

I warily brought out my trident, and aimed to take the head of anyone who dared to face me now.

Standing alert for any further movements and poised to kill, I heard another rustle but on my right side this time. I turned to face the incoming foe and stabbed the bush savagely.

Stab! Stab! And Stab! Repeat the cycle until the pathetic bush and the creature hiding underneath the pathetic bush are dead and a pool of berry blood gathers on the ground.

(Wow...that was so sadistic! Imagine killing an innocent bush like that? It's the work of the devil!)

*Shing*

"What the-" I cussed when I saw a sword ready to slit my throat. As if that was going to happen!

"Voi! You coward! Killing a bush like that. You're a disgrace to the Vongola Famiglia. Spilling blood... of berries! Voi! Ha ha ha!", the Varia's rain guardian, this time around was the one laughing his butt of (which is probably shaped like a shar-)

*the author falls down from a gaping sword wound on her belly this time*

"Now, get a move on. Say you're last words, voi!"

"That's very nice of you, Kufu fu fu. But i'm not ready to die yet!" and with that said, I threw a ball which exploded into a smokescreen. Hitting my attacker's belly with the strength I've been carrying all this time (for I am amazing), I finally heard the satisfying grunt of someone in pain. The enemy doubled over and loosened his disgusting grip on me (how dare he touch me!) but managed to recover just in time to get away before my gleaming trident successfully impaled him.

He shouldn't have moved! It would have made things easier.

Both of us were on equal footing now (although I'm just being kind here...of course I have the upperhand). With the smokescreen around him, his sense of sight was as useless as it can be. There was no other choice but to rely on his sense of hearing and smell (which he doesn't have. Kufu fu fu).

I knew that we were both crouching close to the ground, shrinking our sizes as much as possible to lessen the target. Moving quietly like a feline stalking its prey, I inched slowly towards each sound I heard, no matter how minimal it may be.

Closer...just a little bit more.

A shadow of a man was standing stupidly in front of me. I grinned maniacally.

This is insulting. Does this scumbag think that I will fall for such useless tricks? Who would be stupid enough to fall for that?

And not a moment too soon, the "Stupid enough" person was shouting "voi!" while slashing the shadow man.

It took all of my self-constraint not to kill the stupid shark right then and there.

That was the stupidest thing I have ever seen in my life. He's the stupidest thing I have ever seen in my life.

I watched with blurry sight as the stupidest thing I have ever seen in my life went on and on at "killing" his enemy. I waited patiently, for the moment the true enemy would strike.

Which way will he come from? I know that this is Byakuran's doing. That bastard wants to steal my future bride huh? We'll see about that when I win this thing.

I inched my way closer to the edge of the smokescreen. The air was getting thinner and I was able to gain my sight slowly and soon enough the smokescreen was far behind me.

I started to run as soon as I left the smoke. They'll keep each other company while I take the prize! Kufu fu fu.

How are they killing each other now? A slit throat? Nah, too simple. Burning alive? No, that's too cliche. How about skinning one of them alive and rubbing salt on the exposed flesh? Oh that would be nice to hear. Slow and painful.

Kufu fu fu. I am so winning. After this I'm going to Vongola and command her to meet me by my bed tonight. She's mine!

KUFU FU FU FU!

KUFU FU FU FU!

KUFU FU FU FU!

KUFU FU FU FU!

(O.o)

**...ooo00800ooo...**

_Byakuran's POV_

What the heck? What was that weird laugh just now? Was it a wild jungle person or something?

Now, how to cross this river?

Yup, that's correct. I was the first one to manage to reach the Vongola river of styx. My enemies are just so stupid to fall for traps like that. I'll let them underestimate my abilities. It will make for a good show, seeing they're pathetic faces when I win this game.

I stared off into the distance and I admitted that my chances are kind of slim.

The Vongola river of styx was definitely unlike the rivers where you can wash your clothes, set a picnic or take a bath on. Sure, you can bathe on it, which is if you want to float as a skeleton after just one immersion.

It looks nasty. Instead of a beautiful and clear blue- green flow of clean water, the water that flowed was made of the blackest water I have ever seen. The smell was almost unbearable too. Bubbles that released gases with a threatening hiss ruptured upon hitting the water's surface. And I swear I even saw a melting skeleton once.

I've been standing here for almost half an hour now, planning the next step.

My first objective would be to find this guardian of the river styx. After I do that, I can just kill him and take his scythe.

Just like how he always wants it to, the voice in my head commented. "That's quite a peaceful river, don't you think?" His laugh reverberated in my skull.

"How many times do I have to tell you to stay away from my mind during the day?" I asked him (but I looked like I was talking to myself) with an irritated voice.

"You don't tell me what to do. I am you and you are me. We're one person, almost the same in every way." I really don't like this other version of me from one of the parallel worlds I have conquered. And the way he said "almost" suggested a hint of superiority that made me very annoyed. But I smiled smugly and said:

"Oh really? Unlike you, I'm quite alive, you see. You're just a spirit, floating aimlessly with the wind."

"Don't you dare!" A headache suddenly came unto me, like it was going to crack my skull open. I winced but maintained my stance. He kept talking.

I may be dead in my world, but I'm alive in yours. I will not rest until Tsunahime is within my reach for the second time.

(Anybody want a flashback? Here's your...)

_Flashback_

The Other Byakuran started appearing in my dreams a few months ago. Being able to communicate with my other selves from different parallel worlds was my ability and I did not mind that this one started appearing wreathed in white flames during my sleep.

He taught me how to control my powers more and helped me to hone them. We began to formulate a plan to conquer this world as he had conquered his. The plan was simple: wed the Vongola princess.

In his world, the Vongola has fallen deliciously on his lap when he wedded Tsunahime. For the first weeks after their marriage, Other kept leaking intel to me on how to bring down the Vongola. But gradually, he seemed to have started withholding information from me until one day, he stopped entirely.

I was furious at him for a month of not appearing before me. I tried to contact him many times but to no avail. I began to start thinking that he might have also lost his war in his world when on night, he visited me.

At first I was not able to recognize his flames, it seemed to be too much lively and unstable to be him. When he finally appeared, I was flabbergasted at the wide smile he was giving me.

"What the hell is wrong with you? Did you go crazy on the other side?"

To my disgust, he just laughed merrily.

"And what the hell is funny now? Why didn't you show up earlier? I had the perfect timing to take her!" In my anger, my flames built up until I looked like a human bonfire.

He suddenly looked at me with angry, and at the same time, guilty eyes.

"You can't." He said quietly after some time.

"What do you mean I can't? I can control the Vongola! I can conquer this world!"

He stepped forward, as if threatening me.

"Forget about it. You have to abandon the plan."

"W-what are you talking about? I don't want that! I have to sacrifice her!"

And the next second, I was flung into the air. He caught me as I was nearing the ground and pounded my body wholly into the dirt.

"Can't you see? Look at me! Can't you feel how light my flames are? How big my smile is? I'm happy! I'm happy that she's with me! She brought me to life!"

It was true, his flames were very agitated, as if unable to contain repressed emotions bursting forth from within him. His smile was true. His eyes were even twinkling with joy (as if that was possible).

"What do you mean by that? You can't be happy with her! She's just a stepping stone to winning this war! Don't you remember anymore what a mafia leader should be like? You're grinning like a crazed dog!"

To irk me further, he smiled. All of his teeth showed up.

"I remember. How can I forget? I remember the bad things that have happened to me as a mafia heir. It never left my mind. It even reached the point when I was filled with too much hatred that I have forgotten that once, even just once, someone smiled at me and considered my feelings for a moment."

"You're disgusting! She was just a child back there! She was not yet trained to bring down mafia family like ours!"

"That was what I thought too." And for a moment his face, which was very much like mine, darkened. "But after being wed to her, I have seen the truth. That she is not like the other heiress to mafia. She's strong, beautiful, kind and she's everything to me." His face lightened up considerably, all hate forgotten.

"You're a fool! A fool! She doesn't love you! She's just pretending, like a good whore should-"

And once again, I was flung into the air. He followed it up this time with a good punch to the face, enough to make me bleed, even in a dream. I was furious. Outraged, that he can be fast and strong and not letting me to even make a defensive move. I glared at him from the ground.

"You're the fool! I love her! And she loves me back! We're going to have a child soon!" His smug expression became a smile, then a laugh.

"T-that's crazy!"

"What's crazy? Well I guess we are crazy. Crazy for power that is. Of all the worlds I have seen, not one of us has had this chance on something this big. We are all full of hatred. This hatred we meant to carry with us to the grave to pass on to the earth, until the earth became poisoned and everyone stepping on it was dead.

It doesn't have to be like that. We still have a chance at something far greater than what we have in mind. You are me and I am you. I hope you see what I am talking about."

And just like that, he left. I was not able to meet him again for another month until...

Blood and fire...

Byakuran can still remember the vivid smell of smoke mixed with the metallic tang of blood.

The "other" him didn't utter a word that night. But one thing was for sure... Other lost everything he had in just one night, including his beloved wife and soon to be born child. Other was also dead himself, but his ability to traverse parallel worlds brought him to Byakuran. From then on, Other has been with Byakuran on every step of conquering the Vongola. And he will not stop until he took back everything that was taken from him- even if it means that he has to die for a second time.

…**oo00800ooo…**

**Well, I hope this was good enough.**

**Please review and continue to vote.**

**Await the next chapter!**


	35. Chapter 35

**CHAPTER 35**

**SEEK THE DEVIL**

Okay, Tsuna. Breathe in. Breathe out. Breathe in. Breathe out. Repeat the cycle. Breathe in. Breathe out.

What the heck? Why was she supposed to feel this way? She's got absolutely nothing to do with it.

This was all Reborn's fault, that's what.

But hey...it doesn't matter, because she's still here, a subject of Reborn's ridicule and to her own conscience.

_I've got nothing to do with this. I don't care what happens to them. Nothing!_

As an answer, she felt her insides churn and twist uncomfortably_. I must look as if I'm constipated._ She moved in her chair.

"What's wrong boss? Is there something you need?" Gokudera came up behind her. He was holding a jar filled with liquid that Tsunahime suspected was wine. And not to mention that he also wore a toga and sandals to match the occasion.

"Nothing Gokudera- kun." She shifted her glance around the pavilion. "When do you think they'll come back?" She asked.

"I'm not sure, boss. But I sure wish none of them comes back." He grinned happily, as if Christmas has come earlier than expected.

"Um. Okay, Gokudera- kun." She bowed her head to avoid his gaze. _Heck! Isn't there a device Gianini can make in order for me not to look up ever again? They're killing me!_

It was true.

For the past hour, everyone has been looking at her direction. And they even did so with so much concentration that their eyebrows met and their brows wrinkled. Levi even had his teeth out.

_Kyaa! They're torturing me! They're imagining of ways to torture me!_

That was also true. But of course Tsunahime misunderstood what kind of torture it was.

Hibari was thinking of killing everybody else in the room and run off with Tsunahime.

Xanxus was thinking of killing everybody else in the room and run off with Tsunahime.

Mammon was thinking of kidnapping Tusnahime and trade her off for a lot of money.

Bel was considering the notion of sitting on _her_ lap this time.

Levi wanted to think that he could think of something worth thinking about, like say, can he even think about thinking?

Lussuria was praying to all his okama gods to bring back his little goldfish (Squalo- chan) back to his mother (which was Lussuria, as Lussuria wants to think).

Ryohei was tortured that he did not get invited to his little sister's wedding.

Yamamoto was drooling at Tsunahime's cuteness and if he could just touch her cheek for just one time...

Reborn said: "I know what all of you are thinking about."

Everyone lowered their gaze.

"Eh? How'd you do that, Reborn? Those should be the stuff you should be teaching me!"

"You're too useless. That will never have any effect on them if you did it."

"Hey! Don't talk to Jyuudaime like that!" Tsunahime turned around to face her storm guardian with a shocked expression on her face.

Reborn's eyes were already quite small, who would imagine it getting smaller?

"What did you say?" Everyone was quiet. Even Kyuudaime was just standing there silently and waiting for the next move.

"Um...I uh- I said can...can you please talk to her nicely? Please?" Beads of sweat were racing each other down his body.

"That's quite a fountain you got there. Ha ha ha." Yamamoto laughed his nervousness away. Reborn can get really scary when he does that.

The others followed suit, smiling nervously and then laughing.

And soon the Reborn-nearly-killing-Gokudera was out of their minds.

_Maybe if they die, this will all end?,_ thought Tsunahime.

_Wah! I'm so evil! Did I really want my friends to die like that? Mukuro is even there. Did I just want him to die? And that Byakuran..._ She felt her lips and the memory of hot lips crashing down on hers made her flush.

"What's wrong Tsunahime-chan?" Ryohei was immediately in front of her, concern written all over her face.

"I'm fine onii-san." She smiled sincerely up at him. And he blushed this time.

"Are you okay, my princess?" Belphegor felt her forehead with his palm.

"You feel hot. Heck, you look hot. Ushi shi shi."

"Hey! Hey, get away from her!" Yamamoto and Gokudera even chorused while swatting away Bel's hand and getting in between him and Tsunahime.

"Belphegor." And from then on, whatever it was that everybody was doing came to a standstill. Fudge, even their breathing stopped. Xanxus rose from where he sat and made his way to Tsunahime. _I've never heard Xanxus call anyone by their name before_. Tsunahime thought back and came up with no memory where Xanxus has ever called anyone like that. _Maybe it's good news! Like he and his friends are finally getting close_. Strange as it is, Tsunahime felt happiness bubbling up her chest.

"I'm gonna kill you if you do that again." So much for good news.

"Y-yes, boss. Understood." Belphegor backed up with a look that resembled a boy parting with his best toy.

But Xanxus immediately changed his target when he turned around and saw Hibari touching his forehead with Tsunahime's. And he even have his arms around her waist! 'O.O'

"What the f-"

"Hey omnivore princess, you might have a fever. My arms are cold so jump here and I'll bite you- I mean or else I'll bite you." And Hibari thought, this is so uncool. I spoke two sentences.

Before Tsunahime or anyone else could do the jumping, there was the bringing out of weapons first. Followed by shouting and death threats. And finally, hell broke loose.

"Idiots! Stop it this instant!" Ninth's voice carried the orders with such authority and power that the monsters stopped dead in their tracks.

"I order you to declare a truce for the remainder of this Engagement games. And if anyone dared to violate this law, their team shall be disqualified. No one is allowed to touch Tsunahime. Keep a good three-meter safe zone for the girl. Can't you see that she's distraught?"

Tsunahime sipped her drink as she sat on the comfy seat they brought her. "Oh, um..." And she did her best to look "distraught".

"The Kyuudaime is right. Even though it pains me to not be able to stay by Jyuudaime's side, I must follow this order to keep her safe." Gokudera was practically tearing up.

"Tss. Fine."

"Fine."

"Whatever."

Kyuudaime nodded at their understanding (Each of them was glaring sig sauers at one another. That was the meaning of understanding for them.).

"Good, now shall we rest easy and enjoy the games?"

…**ooo00800ooo…**

"Who the heck thought of these stupid games again?" Byakuran was still stranded by the river shore. Reborn and Kyuudaime meant to sneeze, but stopped themselves just in time to prevent embarrassment.

He stood with his hands on his hips, still thinking of a way to cross the bloody river.

Should I build a bridge? And then what? Become a carpenter? What if he felled trees and use them to get across? The heck, the river was over a hundred meters wide. So what then?

Before he could get any more annoying thoughts, he felt a chill run down his spine- as if someone was watching him. And not just watching, mind you, it was like he was being skinned alive. Pivoting, he searched for the enemy. But there was no one. Everything was awfully quiet. And that made his feeling grow worse.

He brought out a knife because he speculated that, no he was sure of it, that the one triggering his alarms was Mukuro. And he knew that letting his flames out would elicit a more dangerous response from the Vongola mist guardian. How did that fool of a Vongola guardian manage to reach it here? But then again, Tsunahime's friends were always a weird bunch.

Straining his senses, he detected movement just a few yards from where he stood. He let the blade fly. But it didn't hit its designated mark, instead, it made its way back to him- straight to his heart. This time, he had no qualms about releasing his flames, which came out in a strong burst of power. The knife flew away sideways and became impaled full hilt into a nearby tree.

"Kufu fu fu. And here I thought I could serve your heart in a barbecue platter tonight for my wedding ceremony."

Byakuran countered him with a smile so irritating that it made Mukuro's red eye glow. "Pity. The feast would've been perfect." And he let out his flame white dragon.

Mukuro sidestepped with perfect timing and ease. The dragon passed him but curved back to take a second bout.

"I don't think so." Mukuro raised his trident up in the air, poised to impale even the heavens. The sky darkened and a strong wind blew leaves out of their anchorage.

"Very nice- for a novice." And Byakuran brought down his hand hard. The white dragon did the same.

It opened its slavering maw, welcoming Mukuro into its toothy confines. An explosion broke out.

…**ooo00800ooo…**

BOOM!

"What was that?" All of the ones who hang back at the pavillion aimed their sight at the sound of explosion. They saw dark smoke rise from somewhere beyond the woods.

"What was that? Oh my, do you think Mukuro-kun's alright?" Sweat started forming on Tsunahime's forehead.

"Don't worry ,Jyuudaime, it's not a loss at all." Gokudera wore a frown so obvious; you could have sworn he very much wanted to be the one who caused that "loss". But to his disappointment, he saw Tsunahime pale at his words. He knows that it was not right for him to be disappointed if his boss was worrying about that pineapple- head. She was his boss after all. But still...it hurt.

Hibari stood a good ways back, daring anyone to touch even a fiber of Tsunahime's gown. She needs to be pure. I won't let anyone touch her. Then he remembered the white- headed herbivore. He let out an evil miasma.

"Ha ha ha. Don't worry, Tsunahime. Pineapple- head must've been the one who caused that. He must've stabbed Byakuran with his pineapple- haircut or something. Ha ha ha." Yamamoto glanced at Tsunahime through his peripheral vision. He couldn't help but target Byakuran. What he did on the island- it was the most unforgivable sin.

His good humor made Tsunahime smile, albeit with doubt. But the sight of her friends' smiling faces and the sound of their reassuring voices calmed her down a notch. She suddenly felt bubbly inside.

"Boss, what are we supposed to do? Squalo is far behind the other two. Mammon looked up from the scanner he kept hidden inside his black cloak. (Hey! Isn't that kind of unfair to the others?)

"Damn that trash! What do we got?" He lowered his voice because Ninth was standing near to his group.

"Shall we go with Plan Alpha? Or Beta? Although Delta is rather bloodier, boss. Ushi shi shi."

As a response, Xanxus grinned vampirically. "Send out the bloodiest we've got."

Byakuran was smirking smugly at the explosion. I bet there's a crater there now, with crushed bones and splashed out blood with tidbits of human flesh.

"Shame, I should've taken his eye first and preserved it in formaldehyde. Tsk tsk." He turned his back and stuck his finger on his chin. Now, how to cross?

"Kufu fu fu. You're quiet a guy for grandeur, aren't you?" Byakuran literally froze. He jerked his whole body to where the voice originated. Amidst the smoke of destruction, he could barely make out the outline of a man and a large monster in the background.

Unfortunately, the wind blew hard. Scattering the dust left behind by his attack, the gust of wind allowed him to visualize Mukuro perfectly unharmed. And behind him, his dragon was grappling with another dragon.

The new dragon was definitely more evil looking than the white one. With glittering red eye on one socket and shining obsidian eye on the other, it had dark scales which color seemed to shift with its movement. Byakuran later realized that the monster's hide was made of dark mist, breaking out then becoming solid at random. The kamikaze dragons continued to battle, bithing each other's tails, bangint their sides on one another and snapping at each other's head. They formed a complete coil with each other's body. Blacka and white completely entwined, they rose to the air vanished among hte clouds.

"Huh. I might have underestimated you, Vongola mist guardian."

"Well, I do have more power than I let on. I am wonderful after fu fu."

Without any warning, heavy droplets of heavy rain started falling. So, yeah, Byakuran was pretty much surprised. And to add to his nearly overflowing annoyance called "Rukudo Mukuro", thunder rumbled far above as well.

As you well expect, the awaited spectacle of the day happened: the great show of definitely sinewy, lean and not to mention very wet hot bodies of Byakuran and Mukuro. (Quite a sight actually, I could almost feel myself dropping dead cold out of happiness. Hey, what else can I do? It was devastatingly hot in here! Hello! But the point is...)

Far above the heavens, clashing fangs and scales sent sparks to erupt in the sky.

"Well, out pets seem to be enjoying themselves over there. They're putting their masters to shame." An evil glint in his eye and Byakuran was attacking Mukuro with a speed that easily could've made lightning proud. But Mukuro saw the move coming, and should I say that Byakuran was quite surprised to have him dodge his flaming attack.

"Kufu fu fu. Watch where you land that thing. It's pretty dangerous you know." And while saying this, Mukuro countered every attack with a move that was stronger and faster. Soon enough, the both of them were perspiring despite the heavy rain. They gave each other a few seconds to breathe, then went on with the fight.

White flames and transparent mist faced each other head on. None of them was willing to give up the fight. They fought and fought, as if their very lives depended on it, which was probably the case.

It was said that the skylark was the strongest of the Vongola, but no one would likely forget that the mist guardian had once captured Hibari Kyoya. So shall I abbreviate the fight? A good hour has passed and the warring parties have lain or slumped on the ground out of exhaustion. Catching every single breath even seemed to be labor for them. But who said anything about giving up?

With weary feet and their heads spinning, they struggled to get up. Both of them agreed that the last stand starts now. They were almost out of flames.

"I daresay you surprised me there, Vongola," said Byakuran. He was panting.

"Kufu fu fu. Of course I did, although I'll also give it to you that you're doing well in facing me off."

"And what's up with your weird laugh? Do you have to do that?" Gee, one of them was about to die in a moment and their last talk would be about Mukuro's weird laugh? If I'd known better I'd say that they were seriously hanging on the same crazy wavelengths.

"Of course I do, kufu fu fu. Girls love it. Even Tsunahime sways when she hears it."

"Um, okay. Let's just finish this." Byakuran was applying pressure on a gash on his arm. No matter what he does, the wound just won't stop bleeding. He reckoned it was deep enough to cause blood loss if this fight won't end soon.

Mukuro also made his way through the debris of the fight. He also sported a wound of his own, but this one was an ugly cut that ran bron his hip down to his knee. Every step he took brought tingles of pain up his spine.

"Congratulations though. Kufu fu fu. I haven't had this much fun for a long while."

"Ha ha. Me too. It'll be a shame to attend your funeral."

"That won't happen." And using calculated bursts of flames, they sped towards each other... Closer. Closer. Any one of them could pass this while the other lies dying on the ground.

BAM! But the decapitation did not come. They just sped straight onto a gigantic creature. And it was hideous. Above them a voice spoke:

"Voi! I do love interrupting fights. Especially when I'm not invited."

…**ooo00800ooo…**

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**Thank you!**


	36. Chapter 36

**CHAPTER 36**

**CLASH OF THE GUARDIANS**

And so the cheating plan of the Varia was revealed.

The monster that Squalo was riding right now was not within his powers to summon. But the Varia was not called the most sneaky Vongola group for nothing. For years now, generation after generation, the Varia bred beasts fit to command. Hybrids of all calibers could be chanced upon in the laboratories, maybe ripping someone's throat off or something within those lines. But the point is, this particular beast that Squalo rode was the elite among the elite when taking into account its hideousness and strength.

The monster waved its head dangerously low, that if anything happened to get snagged in those tusks, well, let's just say they'd be having elephantine nightmares or not have any dreams at all in the future.

The tusks were dripping with greenish liquid that sizzled when they hit a solid thing. And one solid thing was Mukuro's right shoulder.

They were so caught in surprise. And considering the fact that the creature was surprisingly quite agile for its size and weight, Mukuro was in for an injury quite uncalled for during his fight with Byakuran.

And speaking of the devil, Byakuran edged away from the humungous form of the new nemesis. The white dragon followed him and curled its lengthy body protectively on his form.

"Voi! We got you, you worthless mist guardian. We will win these games and claim the head of the Vongola. My boss will rule instead!" and with that, the creature went into a killing kamikaze.

It pounded its thick-scaled paws on the ground, leaving deep trenches where its long claws dug the earth. It's hind legs were larger than the front but it still walked on fours. Thick skin covered its entire body, looking strangely mossy green when hit with light. It had the head of a hippo, but together with the poisonous tusk and scaly feet, none of them could quite identify the monster's ancestry.

"Kufufu. You must not want your darling pet to die. Looking at it a little closely, I'd say it got its looks from you, Varia's rain guardian. It even got your eyes." Mukuro was dodging attacks faster than a bullet. His shoulder was beginning to throb, he needed a getaway, and soon.

"Voi!" Squalo screamed in outrage. He added his flames into the throng of attacks, making it harder for Mukuro to move. In the next second, he engulfed Mukuro in a large orb of flames. Mukuro was able to guard using his own flames, but the tusks that were coming down on his right side made him swerve to the left, meeting the sharp edge of a blade.

Mukuro cried out in pain and frustration. His flames were almost depleted. The forest fights and the dragon summoning was taking a toll on him. He faced a choice, summon back the dragon and lose his chance at a strong offense or run out of flames by maintaining it as his defense.

There was no time to think, the sword that was embedded on his left shoulder was causing more pain to him that he realized. He would need a lot of energy to create an illusion and fool his body into thinking that it wasn't bleeding when he yanks it out later. Illusions were useful in a lot of ways.

In a split second, the black dragon disappeared. Flames now surrounded both of his shoulders. With a painful grunt, he yanked out the sword and covered it in an illusion to prevent himself bleeding to death. Dark flames also crept to his left shoulder, now cast with a sickening green glow that would surely get him killed if he doesn't make fast moves now.

From where he was standing, Byakuran let out a low whistle. "He's can troubleshoot, that one." A millisecond later, claws inhabited the space where his head would have been, had he not moved out of harm's way.

"Well, nice of you to notice me here." His white dragon blinded the enemy with a single burst of bright light then moved to the offense.

_Cover the monster_. He instructed the dragon with his mind. It obeyed, spiraling its whose length of scales and thorns on the monsters body. Even Squalo got caught up in it. After doing so, it squeezed.

Its serpentine form twisted its body, smothering the animal with its lithe body. Squalo's vois were to be heard together with his desperate attempts to slash at the dragon's body.

"Now to clean up this mess," Byakuran clicked his fingers and the dragon emitted white flames from every corner of its body.

"Hah. This is nothing. What were the Varia thinking, sending a weakling like that."

"Well I'll be damned," Mukuro whistled from behind him.

"NO!" Yes. Mukuro, seizing the moment, was already two- thirds across the river. He was stepping on some kind of bridge wreathed with black flames.

"Curse you, Vongola!" For this challenge seemed to be the kind of thing that the Vongola mist guardian was meant to win. As an illusionist, making a single bridge would be as easy as pie. And he had seen the pathways of hell. This river of styx was like a walk on his own backyard.

_Cheats! The Vongola and Varia both! _He made to jump after Mukuro, but the moment his feet touched the construction, it crumbled into pieces and tumbled into the dark waters with loud splashes despite the illusion having weighed less than a few kilograms. Judging by the splashes the fall made, it would seem as if it weighed tons.

Just to scorn him further, the raging beast he had held in his dragon's clasp for all this time gave a loud roar. It writhed and kicked with all its might until his dragon thought it better if he withdrew at that moment. That was a serious mistake.

The monster's hind legs were developed in such a way that it can traverse a long distance in a short time. With a spurt of muscled power, the creature leaped.

"Voi! Eat our dust, you stupid white head of a-!" But Squalo never completed his chance to gloat. Almost after his pet took the leap and got suspended in midair, Byakuran took the chance to propel himself with flames into the air. He landed with a grunt on the creature's back behind Squalo.

A sudden wave of nausea hit him. Glancing at Squalo, he could tell that his enemy was in the same situation as he was.

"Nice of you to give me a ride." Byakuran did his best to assume his fighting stance.

"Piss off, white- head," was all Squalo could muster as the pressure weighed them down.

For this was the river's most powerful weapon- gravity. As they got closer to the middle of the river, the crushing gravitational force aimed to pull them into the deadly waters. But the beast was engineered for this special purpose. Its leg power was made with so much power to ensure that one leap could overpower the pull until they reach the other side. It didn't help them much though.

Squalo and Byakuran crouched on the beast's back, resisting with all they have. Byakuran's knees gave out and now he was in a kneeling position. Squalo, seeing the chance, raised his sword with all the effort he could summon. Fortunately for Byakuran, Squalo's muscles gave out and his pending doom by beheading was cancelled (It got postponed! Voi! He just got lucky).

Byakuran managed to chuckle, despite the situation. Then a sudden, horrible, gnawing notion got into his reeling mind.

"Hey, where's the Vongola?"

"What? Who cares? He's probably stranded on his little bridge and die soon." They craned their necks to look down below.

"Crap," was all he could say.

…**ooo00800ooo…**

Mukuro was not enjoying his path to victory at all.

Nobody said anything about the guardian of the river of styx being this annoying and- and… so stupidly fairytale-like.

The so- called "guardian" was a squat little man with pinstriped suit, a Mexican hat and green pointed shoes tipped with clanging little bells. This old thing seriously needs a make-over. And a bath. Oh, a lengthy bath. One with disinfectants as the main ingredients. Maybe pesticides. And he should be dried in a sterilizer later up to two-hundred degree Celsius.

"And I'm telling you, you can't cross without paying a toll."

"I don't have any money with me, you stupid troll." Mukuro wanted so badly to give the rotund and boil- filled a good beating.

"Don't take that tone with me young man!" Maybe he could add in a few kicks to sate his anger.

"Just give me your scythe now and let me pass. When I get to the other side, I'll talk to the Vongola boss to give you your payment."

"Hah!" The irregularly round face of the troll distorted further into a grin. Can't really call that a grin, since the face became more unbearable. Mukuro grimaced.

"So which Vongola kid is calling himself a boss this time? The last one was the first boss. Not that I call him that. I have no boss. In fact, you should be kneeling down now and begging me to pass. Which I will not let you do even if you cry like a wee little lady." The troll guffawed at his own joke and stared at him through the rim of his hat.

"Let's say, how about you give me that trident, huh? Sounds like a deal to me. You leave that shiny thing behind and I'll let you pass. Oh, and no fakes." Mukuro's hand stopped on its tracks as he fashioned a fake trident.

"If I do that, you'll give me your scythe and let me pass?"

"Oh, no. That's not possible, lad. An eye for an eye. A tooth for a boot… or something like that. Your trident for a path across. But for my scythe, you'll be paying a more expensive toll for that one. It's the only thing I have for shaving now that I lost the other one to the first Vongola."

Mukuro thought with his lips drawn in a thin line; his eyebrows clashed on his forehead.

"Fine, I'll leave my trident and you'll let me pass. For your scythe, I'll give you a right to ask for anything once I become the Vongola boss."

"Wha- ha ha ha. HA HA HA!"

Much to his anger, the troll dropped on his knees and laughed his insides out.

"Don't be so sure of yourself, boy. To the Vongola, someone like you can't even scratch the surface of what makes a Vongola boss. Ha ha ha. I'll offer you this instead, you take my scythe, give it to whoever runs this game, you come back here and be my slave forever. How about that? Sounds good right?"

"What the- don't talk down on me, you freak! I'm nobody's slave and I can make it to the top if I want to!"

"Uh-huh," was all the troll said. Waving his hands as if to say, "sure kid" to a crying nephew.

"I can-"

"How about this then," The troll fixed him with a sly gaze that he coupled with a show of his mossy teeth.

"And this is your last chance to strike a deal with me. The trident for a path across. My scythe for that."

"You can't seriously mean-" large beads of cold sweat began to break out of Mukuro's skin. If he had a mirror, he would have seen his reflection as a white- faced man with a morbidly terrified expression.

"Oh yes, I seriously mean it. I'll give you my scythe if you give me your eye."

…**ooo00800ooo…**

**Whew! Finally done.  
>I might have committed gluttony while writing this one. I definitely downed a lot of food to set my mind gears working.<strong>

**Well, have fun pipz!**

**Hope you review my story and vote as we go along the way.**

**Itadakimasu!**


	37. Chapter 37

**CHAPTER 37**

**BEHIND CLOSED DOORS**

"Can I kiss you?"

That. Was. One. Heck. Of. An. Opening. Line.

"Eh? But Mukuro-kun, you're…"

"I'm what? Don't I deserve some award here? I just won the freakin' game. So say it, I'm amazing and you want so badly to give me the warmest embrace and the most torrid-"

Silence.

"That's what you deserve, you stupid herbivore."

And so the first part of the engagement games has come to an end.

But just because we witnessed Mukuro's pervertedness doesn't mean that we have to just look forward to more pervertedness- like, say, from Hibari. We also need to look at the past just for the sake of looking into the past and for our own sakes. Please fan girls, calm down.

…**ooo00800ooo…**

"There's another explosion!"

"Where? Can you smell where it's from?"

Gokudera sniffed, and sighted, and decided that yup, that was definitely an explosion by the river.

"Oh no! What about Mukuro- kun? Do you think he's alright?" Tsuna was twiddling her thumbs so fast that Yamamoto was forced to stop her hands before the world begins to spin in chaos.

"Tsunahime-chan, stop that this instant! You'll ruin the manicure I just made for you." Bianchi, despite the coming chill in the air, was wearing a knee-high length of Grecian robe that was barely held together at her left shoulder by a brooch shaped like, well, Reborn in a grecian robe that was barely held together at her left shoulder by a brooch shaped like Leon.

"She's right Tsunahime-chan, don't worry yourself over something like this. Your guardians are tough. Although my boys are tougher but still (as Tsuna began chewing her nails to the stub) your guardians are highly motivated right now."

"You see? Don't worry little sister, your big sister is here for you in case your mist guardian got caught in that explosion and got torn to bits after uttering your name as his last wish. I'm here for you." Bianchi turned to Tsunahime with her warmest smiles.

"I think my insides just froze, Bianchi-nee." Xanxus positioned a pillowed seat at the exact same spot where Tsunahime fell out of frustration.

"Oh. Thank you, Xanxus-kun." Tsuna smiled at the big form of a man who stoically stood beside her.

That was bad.

"That was lame. I would've caught you with my arms, Tsunahime," said Yamamoto.

"Shut up, you sports freak! I would've caught her in my arms, put her in a bed, fetched hot lemonade for her and sang her to sleep." Gokudera was drooling by the end of his sentence. Oh, the fun they could've had together…

"Ushishishi. I would've just killed you all and got on with the wedding."

"How dare you! How about I end your pathetic life right away?"

"You're no match for me, matchstick man!"

And a storm broke out, such was the prediction for the weather forecast.

Hibari did what they would have. He scooped up Tsunahime from her chair and sat her on his lap. He even inclined his body in a forty- five degree angle just so Tsunahime could have a backrest. Comfy.

"You bastard, your happy days are over!"

"He broke the law! We weren't supposed to touch Tsunahime until the game was over!"

"Execute him for his crime!"

"Burn him with holy fire!"

Hibari accepted the comments freely. Hell, he was in his happy place.

"He didn't break the rule. It is over." Ninth came up behind the arguing group and pivoted to face the distance. "The victor is coming into view."

And the most anticipated moment of the day came to a standstill. All of them were craning their necks, squinting their eyes and muttering under their breaths.

So who was it? Vongola? Varia? Or Gesso?

Under the mysterious mist surrounding the incoming victor, they saw him stumble. Then he came into view.

And he was smirking in his own weird way; grinning smugly at the losing team members. And he was beaming widely at Tsunahime that his love for her was written all over his face.

"I did this for you, Tsunahime." And then he fell facedown.

…**ooo00800ooo…**

Wounds were stitched up, missing eyeholes were patched up and the losers were hunted down.

Byakuran was found calmly contemplating by the shore. Squalo was cursing wildly under his breath.

But all the attention, of course, was on the winner. I mean, they were finally noticing Mukuro. They even planned death threats and sudden accidents for him. How sweet. But the thing was, Tsunahime wouldn't leave the sick room.

"Mukuro-kun, you didn't have to sacrifice your eye just to win the game. How can you live normally now?" Tsunahime had a sudden thought, did the word normal even exist in their world? Probably not.

Mukuro lay stationary on the bed. It's been two days since the first challenge and he still haven't woken up. Tsunahime was feeling the weight of her guilt with each passing day.

_They're my friends and I let them do all these morbid things for me. It's what I keep telling Reborn, that I'm a failure of a boss. I can't even protect my friends._

_ "_You're definitely right about the failure part, Tsuna." Reborn came up behind her and jumped into the bed. He sat in front of her so that they were face to face.

"I like the view here. You look wonderfully terrible. You haven't had a proper night sleep this past few days and you've managed to choke down morsels of food. You could die without me lifting a finger."

"Reborn! My friend is dying and you're still thinking of killing me? I'm dying already. And if Mukuro- kun dies, it will be all because of me."

Tsunahime began releasing a new batch of salty tears. Reborn brought out his handkerchief. She wailed even more.

"Shut up, useless Tsuna or you'll wake him up."

"Isn't that the point? For him to wake up so he can hear how sorry I am?" Her snot was racing the other snot down to the floor.

"You really look disgusting."

There was an abrupt shift in the bed that made them both start.

"Clean yourself up, you useless Tsuna. He's waking up. I'll send the others in so we can plan the next course of action." Tsuna barely heard what Reborn was saying. Her relief and glee was evident on her not so previously bereft face.

"All of you inside. Now."

The other guardians were happy to go in. their assassination plans were in place, after all.

One by one they went through the door to witness Tsunahime's grieving state. They were so sorry for her that the ache made their mental plans go away.

"Can I kiss you?"

And the plans were back in place. They added a few alterations, just to ensure that the bastard-who-dared-ask-for-a-kiss really dies and stays dead.

"Eh? But Mukuro-kun, you're…"

"I'm what? Don't I deserve some award here? I just won the freakin' game. So say it, I'm amazing and you want so badly to give me the warmest embrace and the most torrid-"

Hibari got to him first. He silenced him with a heavy smack to his temporal.

"That's what you deserve, you stupid herbivore."

"Hibari-kun! What have you done? He's still healing his wounds and he badly needs help."

The skylark became frostier than ever after that. So he stayed in the corner of the very corner.

"Don's start." With eyes glinting dangerously, Reborn silenced them.

"That's one challenge done but don't let down your guard. I have a strange feeling about this win."

"What do you mean? That they let us win or something?" Gokudera looked aghast.

"It's true," chimed Yamamoto. "I did not sense an evil intent from that Byakuran guy despite him losing. It's surely out of place."

"He's extremely right. I can see the evil things in the eyes of the Varia but when the white- haired guy passed by me, he just seemed too cool about losing that it creeps me."

"Very perceptive of you. Now you know what you're dealing with. Someone who is not afraid to lose everything, as long as he wins in the end. This is not just some games for the hand of the future Vongola. This is about everything in between. If we lose Tsunahime in this fight, we won't get her back."

Heads were inclined all over the room.

Tsunahime spoke, "Are you sure Reborn? I mean, Mukuro worked really hard for this challenge. Maybe that's just it. You can't just be suspicious of everyone."

"Anyone who lost their mind and wanted you is suspicious." Well, that was flat.

"Hey! That's not true! Gokudera- kun, Yamamoto-kun, Hibari-kun and Ryohei-niisan are nice and kind people."

She was so sincere in all the words she said that it made them blush.

"Gosh, thank you, Tenth."

"Yeah, Tsuna, it's all fine. You don't have to say those things."

"I'm extremely shy about this!"

"And I'm extremely pissed that I did not witness the good parts of this meeting." Mukuro was stirring under his covers. He managed to prop himself up on pillows with the help of Tsuna ( much to the others' rage).

"So, we just have to win every challenge then."

"It's as simple as that but more complicated in truth. This Gesso kid is planning something other than getting Tsuna's hand in marriage. I want guardians to stand by her every single moment of the day, understood?"

"Yes sir," they chorused.

"Uh- even when she goes to the bathroom? What then? Shall I wash her back? Ushishishi." The others were more than obliged to do the silencing this time.

"Bianchi will be guarding her in those times," replied Reborn, tossing Muukuro's ill (perverted) sense of humor in the waste bin.

"You need to rest Tsunahime, Gokudera will take the first watch tonight."

"I'll take care of you, boss! I won't let anyone else near you tonight, I swear." Obvious glee was painted on Gokudera's face that Tsunahime felt her heart warming up. She had such good friends.

"I know you will."

…**ooo00800ooo…**

Two floors above and three doors to the left, a person was standing still by the wall that he seemed to be a part of it. When the audio connection broke out, he grinned.

"Interesting."

…**ooo00800ooo…**

**And that's "Behind Closed Doors" fresh from the Vongola factory. I hope you like this.**

**Keep voting and please keep the reviews coming.**

**Until next time!**


	38. Chapter 38

**CHAPTER 38**

**BLOCKBUSTER**

It's quite brilliant.

One look and they had to agree.

She looked scrumptious, even on screen.

And she felt like evaporating on the spot.

Wondering what the H is happening? Here's what.

Lussuria, one fine adventurous day, decided that they just had to have a movie about the Vongola family. And Reborn being Reborn, agreed.

Currently, on the screen, Tsunahime was wearing a dress designed like a flower. Thick pink-colored folds of silk piled on top of another to form the skirt. The straps were laden with fake leaves. Her neckline was cut low to show some of her bosom ("assuming she has one", said Reborn). It was white, cut out of the same material but the colors white and pink gradually converged to form a lighter pink to add an effect of color transition on her midline. And so they deemed her scrumptious.

"Oh, oh! Here I come! Here I come!" Gokudera was jumping elatedly on his seat.

On screen, Gokudera came out with a menu and asked Tsunahime what her order was, if you please.

Tsunahime, like on real life stuttered her tongue out until Hibari took her hand and pried the menu gently from her fingers. He ordered the same for them both.

Gokudera, true to his self as ever, glared bombs at Hibari.

As romantic movies go, it was time for the leading man to propose to the leading lady. Hibari dropped on one knee and produced a small blue velvet box out of his pocket. He propped the lid open and looked Tsunahime directly in the eyes. And oh, did they see right through her soul.

He looked dashing in that black suit of his. What with the serious eyes that for the moment held her image, she felt like she was looking through a mirror. She can smell his suave perfume.

Crack. Creek. Crack. The audiences were gnashing their teeth together. One was even chewing his knives.

The heroine gasped with shock and they could see that her heart was obviously pounding erratically.

"Briar Rose, we haven't been together for that long but to me it feels like eternity might not be enough to span my love for you. I may be just a simple man and I cannot give you all the luxuries in the world, but I can give you my life, love and soul. I have been searching for my soul all this time until I met you. My soul is where you are.

I love you, will you be my-?"

CRASH!

Flying glass bits filled the air and smoke rose from the ground.

Shadows appeared on the smoke and when it cleared, it revealed-

Xanxus and his team dressed as zombies.

"And that's when I said, cut! Xanxus-chan, you can't just appear on screen like you did back then. I told you that your part comes before their wedding! You were supposed to be a soldier who was used by the government as a living experiment during the war. You were supposed to kidnap Tsunahime and make her love you. And isn't until scene fifty one!" Lussuria grumbled on and on while Xanxus turned to Hibari.

"Why is he the one chosen to be the hero of this stupid movie?" He pointed an accusing finger at Hibari's placid face.

"We already told you Xanxus, we cannot place a person who thinks of this movie as a waste of time on the spot of the protagonist." Kyuudaime explained patiently while looking at him through his three-D glasses.

"I still won't accept it!"

"Ha ha ha. Now that's just childish, Xanxus- kun. Everybody knows I am perfect for the job."

"What did you say, you commoner? _I _am the one who's perfect for the role, I am a prince," said Belphegor, as if his royal status could make everything look insignificant.

"Reborn, my love, did you see how wonderful the dress I picked out for her?" Bianchi squealed with delight.

"Of course I did. Now let's see the next film." Reborn left his seat where Bianchi lay slumped with an obvious blush.

This one featured Reborn in a master chef outfit. In the background, huge slabs of meat were hanging, along with one chef screaming in pain over a burning stove.

"I am now announcing the second part of the Engagement games." Before he continued, he smiled sadistically.

"I assure you that you will learn a lot from this. Only two from your team will join the challenge. The participant of the last game is not allowed to join for the second time.

Unlike the last game, there is now a time limit, you are given an hour to choose your materials and prepare a buffet for a small wedding.

We shall give you time to decide on the participants and menu."

Reborn held a huge butcher's knife and ran through a slab of meat as if it were soft cheese.

"Also, the restriction zone for Tsunahime will be in place starting tomorrow morning.

The rendezvous point shall be posted on your doors tomorrow, any questions?"

Among the throng of confused and excited faces, a pale hand rose.

"Who else will join the games if I'm not allowed to play?" Everyone turned to Byakuran, their faces laden with delight upon his incoming doom.

"Oh, haven't we told you yet? The tree of us will be on your team- Kyuudaime, Bianchi and me."

"WHAT?"

…**ooo00800ooo…**

**This feels great! I finally found the time to update, so here I am.**

**Sorry for the wait, this internship thing has been prying my head off for months now.**

**I hope you like this chapter.**

**And did you know that the new ingredient for cloning includes a dash of caffeine? It's used to stabilize key molecules in delicate human egg cells.**

**Now I'm just babbling. **

**So get on with the show!**


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